The Strength of Brothers
by LD 1449
Summary: Three brothers, their strength,their failures,successes and dreams. This is their story.
1. Chapter 1

Well here's a new story for all of you to read hope you enjoy it.

For those of you that read my first story **_Demon's Glory, _**I'm not sure if this story will be as good or if it will be better than that one. But like before advice and constructive criticism is accepted and welcomed.

Also this will be a Naru/OC (Eventually) pairing. Don't question me about it just know that there is a reason for my madness. Vote for the other pairings.

Let's start with the story.

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In the ninja village of Konoha, Naruto Uzumaki was in trouble. Now normally a six year old doesn't get into the kind of trouble to have a mob of 30 or so civilians and ninja after them. But Naruto was no ordinary boy, because inside of Naruto's stomach was a demon who's powers were that of legend.

Inside of Naruto was the nine tailed fox Kyuubi.

Naruto ran into a side road in hopes of getting away but to his horror it was a dead end. He turned around and found the villagers all standing behind him glaring at him with hateful eyes.

One of the villagers stepped forward "We should have done this four years ago its time you die worthless demon." Cheers of agreement erupted from the crowd. "Why are you doing this to me" Naruto yelled with tears in his eyes. Another enraged villager yelled out in anger, grabbed Naruto by his shirt and started punching him repeatedly. Soon more villagers came and joined in on the beating despite Naruto's pleas for help or for them to stop.

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Kyuubi was watching the scenario from within Naruto's mind with angry eyes.

"**Humans" **He spat out the word with distaste **"And they call me a monster. Not only are they the true monsters they're also stupid how could they not see that he's nothing but a child innocent of my crimes."** Kyuubi was getting angrier and angrier with each passing moment. **"Well no more this is the last straw"**

Kyuubi started pushing chakra but not towards Naruto.

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Sarutobi sat in his office sorting through the paper work. He looked out through the balcony and sighed. He was going to move his attention back to his work again but the crystal ball at the side of his desk started glowing.

At first it was a faint white glow but it soon turned into a dreadful red and the ball started floating in mid air. Sarutobi walked over to the ball in wonder. He noticed that words engraved in the color of flames it read

'_You have failed Sarutobi and I will no longer standby and watch. I'm taking the boy with me. _

_I am very disappointed in you Sarutobi I expected better._

_And I believe that Arashi and…theywould have expected better from you as well_

The ball's glow died down and Sarutobi was out the balcony looking for Naruto before it fell back into it's usual spot.

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The crowd looked at the battered and broken body of thesix year old boy with satisfaction in their eyes. Naruto's right arm was bent backwards blood was coming from his mouth indicating internal bleeding. His head was bleeding from a slash from a kunai. He had other slashes in his arms, legs, abdomen, chest and back.

The crowd all started walking away in a slight hurry not wanting to be caught in the scene of the crime. But while they were walking away they all felt something that made their blood run cold.

They all turned around and found Naruto still lying on the floor red chakra swirling around him. A member of the crowd who happened to be a chuunin stepped forward kunai drawn ready for the killing blow. But before he was able to get two steps the red chakra exploded bathing every area in a two block radius with the chaotic chakra, sending fear through the entire city.

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Sarutobi was jumping from rooftop to rooftop trying to find Naruto.

He then felt Kyuubi's chakra explode. He turned and found a chunk of the village masked in a deep red mist. He narrowed his eyes and started running even faster.

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Kyuubi's chakra was healing Naruto at super human speeds. You could see the slash marks closing up making a small hissing sound with each one. You could also hear loud cracks and crunches moving through the air, indicating his bones were being put back into place.

Naruto opened his eyes revealing a blood red color with slits instead of his normal blue. He stood the red chakra forming around him making a single tail. He turned and glared at the villagers with his red eyes making all of them flinch. Each were frozen in fear.

Kyuubi looked up and saw the figure of Sarutobi along with several Anbu and another ninja with a mask. They were still much to far away to see him but with his enhanced eyes he could see them as if they were only a few feet away.

He gave one final glare at the villagers before turning around and bolting out towards the village gate.

The villagers were still frozen in fear when Sarutobi and the other Anbu arrived. He looked towards the crowd and then looked at the pool of blood on the floor and then at the blood on the alley walls. It didn't take long to discover what had instigated the Kyuubi into action.

He turned back to the Anbu "All of you spread out find Uzumaki Naruto and bring him back here uninjured" The Anbu nodded and left in puffs of smoke. Sarutobi then turned to the other ninja wearing a mask "Kakashi, I know that these villagers attacked Naruto gather the instigators interrogate them find out the truth. Get Ibiki on the job if you must." Sarutobi then disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

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Naruto woke up not knowing where he was. He was lying on the ground in a forest and it was already night time. The last thing he remembered was running away from the villagers then getting hit and then…nothing.

He tried to get up but then he felt searing pain shoot through his whole body almost as if he had been burnt repeatedly. He felt his eyes grow heavy and he soon fell asleep.

He woke up moments later in a dark room. The wall's were completely covered with pipes and the water was reaching up to his knee (Remember he's only six) he immediately sat upright. He was really starting to get annoyed at waking up in strange places.

He looked at his surroundings but the only thing that caught his attention was the pair of massive gates looming over him. He looked and found that the only thing that was keeping the gate closed was a small piece of papper with the kanji of seal on it.

He walked towards the gate carefully. He jumped back almost immediately when he saw two crimson eyes staring down at him.

"Wha-what are y-y-you?" He asked not able to repress the stutter nor the fear in his voice. **"Child you have no need to fear me for behind these bar's I cannot harm you nor would I want to. I do admit however that this form is 'Scary' perhaps it would be better if I took a form that is a little less……intimidating." **Kyuubi spoke his voice a deep rumble that seemed to come from all directions.

The great demon glowed red for a few moments then faded back into the darkness of the cage. "HEY WAIT WHERE DID YOU GO" Naruto yelled looking around frantically for the giant demon.

Suddenly an elderly looking man with a long red beard and blood red robe with black runes appeared from the darkness of the cage. Naruto noticed that he had red eyes, fangs and claws.

"Well my child this is no longer scary any more is it?" He asked with a small smile on his face. "Umm, no not any more mister but you still haven't told me your name." Kyuubi's smile faltered but he answered without missing a beat. "Your right I have not told you my name young one please forgive me my name is Kyuubi. And you are Naruto correct?"

Naruto blinked at the strange old man. "Umm, yeah but how do you know my name and… where are we?" Naruto asked looking around in a way that made him look just like a fox.

"Well Naruto we are in your mind or more specifically your subconscious. Now let me-"

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY HEAD? AHHHHHHHH! GET OUT GET OUT GET OUT?" Naruto yelled frantically holding his head and running around like a chicken with his head cut off. Kyuubi watched the boy with a little bit of enjoyment confusion and surprise mixed in his features.

"Naruto" The boy kept running.

"Naruto" Still running

"NARUTO" Kyuubi was starting to get a little irritated but Naruto was still running and yelling…and running.

"**NARUTO!" **Kyuubi's voice boomed through the hallways making Naruto remember that this was someone who was about a hundred feet tall just three minutes ago. "Now as I was saying Naruto I live here inside your mind with you."

"Umm I think I understand." Naruto said a little slowly trying to grasp the information given to him. "Good…and…Naruto…I'm sorry." Kyuubi said with his a stoic face even though his eyes held sadness.

"Huh? Why are you sorry you haven't done anything wrong Kyuubi" Naruto asked a little confused by the sudden change in attitude.

Kyuubi sighed, he knew that the boy deserved to know the truth. "Naruto I regret to tell you that I am the reason that everyone hates you" Naruto was getting more confused by the minute. "But why? You seem to be very nice why would people hate you?"

"Naruto do you remember the story of the nine tailed demon fox that attacked Konoha?" Naruto nodded furiously with a big smile on his face. "Yup Ji-san told me. he said that the fourth Hokage sacrificed himself so he could kill it."

Kyuubi was dreading what was about to happen but he knew it had to be done. "Naruto you were only given a half truth." Naruto blinked a few times and said "What do you mean?" Naruto looked to the ground the pieces were slowly coming together in his mind but he still had to hear the answer.

"Naruto I was that demon fox. I was much to powerful for the Yondaime to kill so he was left with only one choice. He had to seal me away. And he sealed me…in you." He braced himself for the boy's reaction.

Silence

He couldn't see Naruto's face because he was looking to the floor and his hair was covering his eyes. He wasn't moving in the slightest, for a brief moment Kyuubi wondered if Naruto had died on his feet.

"You" He started barely above a whisper. He then looked at Kyuubi. His eyes, the once calm tranquil happy eyes that looked like lakes were now like an ocean in a storm that could drown you in their anger loneliness and sadness.

"**YOU DID THIS! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT! YOU'RE THE REASON EVERYONE HATES ME AND TREATS ME LIKE THIS! YOUR PROBABLY THE REASON THAT I DON'T HAVE PARENTS ALSO! I HATE YOU!" **

Kyuubi was looking at Naruto with a mixture of sadness and regret. He was expecting this kind of reaction. But expecting it and hearing it were two very different things.

"I truly am sorry Naruto. I truly never meant for this to happen" He said in a sad tone.

Naruto was about to yell at him again but he then took a good look into his eyes and saw nothing but sadness regret and even…grief. He calmed down and said "Explain" Kyuubi looked at Naruto with shock "Wha-what did you say?"

Naruto huffed and sat down Indian stile making a small splash. "I want to know why you attacked the village. So explain" Kyuubi blinked several times before saying "Well umm, does this mean your not angry with me any more?" He asked with just a hint of cautious hope in his voice.

"Of course I'm still angry it is your fault after all. But I think that if you were a monster like the villagers say then you wouldn't even bother to say that your sorry." Even though it wasn't much Kyuubi felt as if a weight had been taken off of his shoulders. He was afraid that the boy would never speak with him again thus making their trip near impossible.

"I'm sorry again Naruto but I cannot tell you at least not yet." Naruto's anger rose again "WHY THE HECK NOT?" He yelled getting to his feet. "Because my boy you are not ready for such information. But you will be soon enough. Just be patient and I will tell you soon." Naruto huffed and sat back down. "Fine"

"Listen to me Naruto when you wake up cut a piece of your jump suit and cover it with some of your blood so that they think that you were eaten by wild animals or something. We won't be heading to that village of yours again for some time." Naruto nodded and asked. "Where are we going anyway?"

Kyuubi looked up and said. "I sense that you are approaching another just like you. I believe he holds the one tail Shukaku. We will seek him out and take him with us if he chooses. Understand?" Naruto nodded and lied down. "All right, good night Kyuubi"

"Good night Naruto"

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Sarutobi sat in his chair mentally and physically exhausted. He and the Anbu had been searching for Naruto for three days and hope was beginning to diminish. _'I'm sorry Naruto I should have been there for you. I am unworthy of the trust those two placed on me' _

A knock on the door brought him out of his thoughts "Come in he responded tiredly. Kakashi walked in. "Have you found anything at all Kakashi?" He asked even though he knew what the answer would be. Kakashi shook his head "I'm sorry Hokage-sama we haven't found anything.

Suddenly another Anbu blasted through the door "Hokage-sama we have found something" He said through a few pants. The Hokage was out of his seat and in front of the Anbu in the blink of an eye. "What is it? What have you found? Tell me!"

The Anbu stiffened and held out a small orange rag that appeared to be part of a jump suit covered in blood. Sarutobi took it with shaking hands "Where is the boy?" He asked his voice cracking a little.

"This was all we found it was near the border of fire and wind country." Sarutobi sighed "Do you think there is any chance of the boy being alive?" He asked still looking at the cloth in his hands. "Even if he did he would not survive the desert without a guide. Besides why are you so worried Hokage-sama it was just the dem-"

He was un able to finish his sentence as the third backhanded him in the face so hard he hit the wall with such force he made a crack in the surface.

"It is ignorant fool's like you and those villagers that have done this. That boy gives his life every single day of his life in order to hold back the demon that you all fear and you are all certainly not making it any easier for him to do it" Sarutobi said in a voice that held an emotion almost never heard on the kind old man……anger.

Kakashi was slightly unnerved by the outburst. NEVER for as long as he knew Sarutobi did the man lose his temper. And suddenly he was very glad…

Because it was a scary sight.

"Would you like me to conduct another search Hokage-sama." He asked still scared of the angry old man.

Sarutobi sighed a defeated sigh and Kakashi was suddenly reminded how old he truly was. "No Kakashi I…I believe it would be beter for him to live away from these stupid villagers for a while." He said leaning on the balcony railing.

'_I just hope his parents can forgive me, I certainly know that his mother didn't want Kyuubi to take him.'_

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Well that's the first chap. It will start to get a little more interesting soon.


	2. Enter the sand man and the mist demon

Well here's the new chapter.

I want to clear something up though. This is **NOT **the sequel for Demon's Glory

Also I want for people to know that this will be a very long fic. Most probably longer than Demon's glory in both chapters and words.

Well now that that's over with lets get on with the story.

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Naruto had been walking through the desert for at least two days. He was tired but thanks to Kyuubi's healing chakra he didn't have to worry about dehydration for longer than most people.

Finally the village gates came into view.

'_Hey Kyuubi is this the place?' _Naruto asked observing the large gates. **"Yes boy it is. I can sense the vessel of Shukaku near. We must find him." ** Kyuubi said with authority. _'All right let's go you just need to tell me where he is.' _Naruto was about to walk in when a blur shot in front of him.

"Hey kid are you all right? A suna Anbu kneeled infront of him noticing how dirty he was from all the sand. "Were you out in the desert all by yourself? Good god you must be dying of thirst. Here drink this." He said handing him a canteen of water.

Naruto was reminded of just how thirsty he actually was with the watter right infront of his face. "THANK YOU" He cried grabbing the water and drinking the whole canteen dry in less than three seconds. He gasped for breath when he was done and handed the canteen back to the Anbu with a grateful smile on his face. "Thanks a lot mister weird masked guy."

The Anbu shook the canteen wondering just how a six year old boy was able to drink an entire gallon and a half in less than three seconds. But then the reality of the situation kicked in and he turned back to Naruto. "What the hell were you thinking? Going out into the desert alone and without water like that. What's wrong with you?"

"_Oh man what am I going to do now' _**"Just say what I tell you to say" **Naruto mentally nodded. Started following Kyuubi's orders to the letter.

He started sniffling pretending like he was going to cry. "My mommy and Daddy all got lost in a storm in the desert. I just walked so I could find them…but…but" Naruto at that point broke down in fake tears. The Anbu put a comforting hand on his shoulder "Hey, hey it's okay little guy. I'll tell the Kazekage and I'm sure he'll send out a group of ninjas for a search. Okay?"

Naruto nodded wiping the fake tears from his eyes. "All right I'm going to go and tell him you wait here okay?" Naruto nodded again and the anbu disappeared in a puff of smoke. Naruto immediately stood up and ran into a nearby alley.

"**All right boy let me take over for a moment"** Naruto nodded and closed his eyes. When he opened them again they were blood red. Naruto/Kyuubi started making hand seals **"Kage bunshin no jutsu"** He whispered. Immediately a single shadow clone appeared. Kyuubi made more hand seals and pressed two fingers to the shadow clones head.

A red glow went from the tip of his clawed hand to the clones head. Runes that were made out of flames formed all over the clone's body and moments later Kyuubi in his human form was standing where the clone was. Naruto looked at him confused.

Kyuubi explained the un asked question. "This is only a temporary release Naruto in about an Hour or so I will return to your mind but I believe that one hour will be all I need. For this task." He then turned and started walking out of the alley. "Come boy we don't have all day." He yelled over his shoulder.

Naruto didn't have to be told twice and scampered behind the fox.

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They both eventually found a red headed boy sitting at the base of a tree with his head buried in between his knees crying. "Is that him Kyuubi?" Naruto asked looking up at the old man. "Yes Naruto that is him. Stay here please." Kyuubi started walking towards Gaara.

"WHAT! WHY!" Naruto yelled at the top of his lungs. Kyuubi turned back at Naruto. "Like I said before that is the one we are looking for but I sense something…odd. Look under his eyes. Do you see the dark spots under them? Those indicate that he has not slept in a long time. I also sense that Shukaku is acting strangely he was always's slightly hyper active but this is strange even for him. I think it's time to find out some answers." Then without another word he started walking towards Gaara again.

Gaara continued crying until he felt a powerful presence in the area he looked up and saw a strange old man with a long red beard walking over to him. He was very surprised when the sand within his gourd lashed out heading straight for the strange old man.

"LOOK OUT! RUN!" He cried out desperately hoping the old man had heard him. But to his surprise and complete shock. A barrier of chakra came between Gaara's sand and the Old man. He continued his silent march without missing a beat. **"Shukaku you will cease this ridiculous behavior at once" **When the sand heard Kyuubi's order it immediately went right back into the seal.

Kyuubi kept walking towards Gaara. The boy was backing away in pure fear from the man who had calmed Shukaku with just his voice. Kyuubi stopped a few feet away from Gaara. "What is your name young one?" He spoke in a calm cold voice looking at Gaara straight in the eye.

"Ga-Gaara." He answered with pure fear in his voice. "Well Gaara. Tell me why can you not sleep?" Gaara looked to the floor with sadness in his eyes. "Because if I sleep the Shukaku will hurt me."

"Well young one I might be able to assist you but I will have to see the seal that they placed on you." Gaara looked at him with surprise mixed with cautious hope. "You-you can?" He asked moving closer. Kyuubi nodded and kneeled before him. "Allow me to see the seal and I will tell you."

Gaara didn't have to be told twice he was standing infront of Kyuubi showing him the seal that was placed on the back of his neck in an instant.

(Not sure if this is where he has the seal but we can pretend cant we)

Kyuubi looked at the seal and let out a snarl of rage. "This is a berserker seal! No wonder Shukaku isn't letting you sleep he's going insane because of this thing." Kyuubi stood up abruptly "Gaara in order for me to change that seal into one that can suit you perfectly then you will have to come with me. With my power as it is now I can not do much."

Gaara stood up and looked at him "But where would we be going mister?" Kyuubi looked at him with a small smile on his face. "That is a secret young Gaara. However know that if you leave with me you will not be able to return for some time. Do you still wish to come?" It didn't take Gaara a long time to decide the nightmares were horrible. So he almost immediately nodded and grabbed onto Kyuubi's red robe.

Kyuubi ruffled his hair. "Good, now my name is Kyuubi we will be traveling with another that is just like you young Gaara. His name is Naruto." He turned and started walking towards Naruto who was sitting down looking at the sky bored. "Come boy we must leave now." Gaara took off after him.

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Naruto saw Kyuubi and Gaara coming towards him and jumped to his feet. He ran over to them with a bright smile on his face. He ran next to Gaara and fell in step with him. "Hi what's your name?" He asked with his normal cheerfulness "Gaara blinked at him wondering why he wasn't scared like the other children were. "Umm my name is Gaara" He said still confused. Naruto grinned at him and held out his hand "Well Gaara my name's Naruto."

Kyuubi smiled to himself he hadn't seen Naruto this happy in a while. And it wasn't fake either. He decided to pick up the pace not wanting to still be within reach of the Sand shinobi when he was forcefully pulled back into the seal. Meanwhile the boy's kept talking about different things enjoying themselves immensely.

"So Naruto why are you going with Mr. Kyuubi?" Naruto smiled a bit "Because just like you I have a demon inside me" Gaara went a little wide eyed at the declaration. "Really? which one do you have? Naruto grinned sheepishly "I have the nine tailed demon fox." Gaara's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets.

"S o Gaara have you ever had ramen?" Naruto asked completely changing the subject. Kyuubi shook his head wondering exactly how short his attention span was. He decided to save that thought for later and headed east toward his destination.

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Gaara and Naruto had been walking east for several days Kyuubi's physical form vanished a shortly after they had escaped from suna. Gaara was very surprised by the fact that the old man he had spoken to was the demon fox of legend but he didn't let it affect his trip. In fact he was even more hopeful that he would be able to fix his seal once they got to where ever it was that they were going.

At night Naruto would hunt since he was much better at it than Gaara was since he had to hunt for his food on several occasions when the guy who collected his rent would over charge him. Gaara would use his sand to act as a tent and protect them from harsh weather conditions.

In the morning Naruto would wake up wash himself up and they'd continue on their way following Kyuubi's instructions. They continued walking for a few hours in complete silence but then they came across a young kid with long black hair and a (what seemed to them) a giant with a very big sword. Both were sitting down leaning on some trees panting heavily.

Naruto ran over to them and Gaara soon followed "Hey are you guys okay?" He asked looking at the man with the big sword and bandages that covered his face. He just growled "What the hell does it look like brat. Were tired, beaten and bleeding. **_'Hmm, judging from the large sword and mist forehead protector… I believe he is a member of the group known as the seven swordsman of the hidden mist.' _"Boy ask him what's wrong." **

"Umm hey mister what happened to you guys. I mean I think you have to be strong to be one of the seven swordsman of the hidden mist thingy and you have to be even stronger to beat one up. Right?" The bandaged guy eyed Naruto through the corner of his eye "Hn, your perceptive for a kid. Well to make a long story short I got fed up with how bloodthirsty the Mizukage was so I decided I was going to do something about it. I failed now I'm being chased." He said still looking around for any other shinobi.

"**Take him with us. He's strong for a human and can teach you how to use weapons or what is also known as Kenjutsu effectively." **Naruto nodded "Hey you want to come with us? Were going to a place where you can be safe, no one will be able to find you there."

The bandaged guy turned back to Naruto and then noticed that Gaara was helping his young companion. "Where would you take us?" He asked seriously considering the boy's proposal.

"Well I'm going to where a friend of mine use to live I doubt any others can follow." Naruto said mentally checking with his tenant. The bandaged guy sighed "Well it's not like I got a choice. Fine kid I'll go with you." Naruto jumped for joy while the man staggered to his feet. "GREAT! WHAT'S YOUR NAME MISTER?" The man was sure that every ninja in a fifteen mile radius was able to hear the brat.

"My names Zabuza" Zabuza then gestured to the other kid. "And I'm Haku" The kid said politely. "Well I'm Naruto and this" He pointed to Gaara "Is Gaara"

"Fine let's hurry mist nin will be on our tails soon and I don't want to have to fight off another group of Anbu." He placed his sword Kubikiri on his back. Naruto nodded vigorously "Okay we head south east from here lets go"

Naruto, Gaara, Haku and abuza all started making their way south east. With a feeling that things were just getting started. And they couldn't wait for the next challenge.

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Well this is the new chap. As you may have realized I didn't mention Haku's gender please help me choose weather he should be a male or female. If it turns out you choose female then it will not be a Naru/ haku or Gaa/Haku

Next chap they arrive at their destination and secrets are revealed

**_Kyuubi-_"Naruto it is time for you to know the truth about your heritage"**


	3. The forest of demons

Well here's the new chap

The voting was tied so I flipped a coin and it turns out Haku will be a male.

Now lets get on with the story.

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During their trip Zabuza had taught each of them basic Taijutsu, chakra control and how to do hand seals, for two reasons. The first was because he figured they could prove useful in the future and the second was because he was actually starting to like the brats. But he'd be dammed before he said that to them.

Since none of them had any real weapon he couldn't teach them his specialty of Kenjutsu and that was annoying him to no end.

Gaara was beginning to learn how to control his sand properly instead of just letting it lash out on its own. Haku was beginning to master his bloodline limit and medical knowledge from a book he had managed to take from mist before he was forced to flee with Zabuza.

Naruto was excelling in taijutsu but he was a little pissed that his two friends had such cool powers like Gaara's sand and Haku's ice. Kyuubi chuckled at that.**_ 'Just you wait boy. Once you learn you will possess a bloodline that even I couldn't defeat.'_** **"Hmm, ahh we've arrived Naruto."**

Naruto smiled and turned back to his three companions. "Were here!" He exclaimed proudly. Behind him was a large forest who's trees were so high you could barely see the top of them. Zabuza saw the place and visibly paled.

"WHAT!" He screamed at the top of his lungs. He charged at Naruto, grabbed him by the collar and pulled him up to eye level. He started to shake him violently. "THIS IS WHERE YOU WERE TAKING US? ARE YOU INSANE! DO YOU EVEN KNOW WHAT THIS PLACE IS? WHO THE HELL IS THIS FRIEND OF YOURS ANY WAY?"

Gaara and Haku were watching the scene before them with confusion evident on there faces. Gaara calmly allowed sand to come out of the gourd and wrapped every part of Zabuza except his head and hands. Effectively stopping him from bruising Naruto's brain through shaking him to violently. Naruto had anime swirly eyes on him by the time the sand fully wrapped around Zabuza.

"My friend told me what this place was but he also said that we could survive in this place." Zabuza went red with anger. "We can survive! WE CAN SURVIVE! YOU LITTLE LUNATIC! **"KAGES** WITH ENTIRE **ARMIES **HAVE GONE IN THAT PLACE AND HAVE **NOT** COME OUT! WHY I OUGHTA-"

He was unable to finish his sentence as two large centipede demons went into the clearing. _"Hmm it's been a long time since we had humans."_ One demon said to the other. _"Aye it has lets enjoy it shall we"_. Zabuza dropped Naruto and took out Kubikiri and stood protectively in front of the three boys. _"Puny human we will now feast on your bones."_

The two demons were about to move but they suddenly felt a large spike of chakra coming from behind the man. Zabuza turned back around and visibly paled when he took in Naruto's appearance. Naruto was on all fours with three chakra tails behind him. He stood up slowly, then had another surge of chakra.

Zabuza was surprised to say the least but he didn't have time to stop and debate as Naruto's chakra flared around causing debree to go flying everywhere. Zabuza brought up his sword and started using it as a shield. Gaara was covering himself with his sand and Haku was using his mirrors.

"_K-Kyuubi! H-how? He was supposed to be dead." _

Naruto glared at the two demons. He started doing a rapid series of hand seals while speaking in a strange language. When he was done he slammed his hand into the grownd. It started to shake violently. But then a tornado of lava came from beneath the earth surrounding both demons. It started getting smaller and smaller until it eventually burnt both of the centipede demons into nothing but ashes.

Naruto then turned back to Zabuza who was still hiding behind his sword. **"Zabuza"** The mist nin jumped a little at the sound of the voice. He mustered his courage and poked his head out the side of the sword. "Yeah?" He said managing to suppress the fear he felt. **"As soon as I relinquish control the boy will lose consciousness. Friends must have recognized the chakra I put out they will come soon you are to follow them. Understood?" **Zabuza nodded and asked. "How do I know which are friends though?"

"**Foxes go with the foxes." **Kyuubi then relinquished control and Naruto fell to the ground already unconscious. Zabuza shook his head, walked over and picked him up. "You've got plenty of explaining to do once this is done." He muttered walking back to where the other two boys were.

After a few minutes thirty or so foxes shot out of the tree line ranging from six to eight tails "Humans where did that chakra come from? Answer me now!" Zabuza was still dumb founded that the boy that he had been traveling with had such tremendous power and the fact that a fox was now talking to him in clear understandable words could only point dumbly at the laying figure of Naruto.

The fox that was silver in color and appeared to be the leader walked up to Naruto and sniffed him His eyes went wide in recognition. _'He has the same scent that she had. So that means that this is her son.'_ He sniffed some more. _'And Arashi sealed Kyuubi-sama into him as well. Hmm, his potential surpasses even hers, without Kyuubi-sama's power but with it…hmm, this is an interesting boy indeed.'_

The fox turned back to Zabuza and the others. "Follow me" He turned and started walking back. Some foxes moved to pick Naruto up but Gaara Haku and Zabuza blocked there pass with sand, ice and Zabuza's big ass sword.

The foxes growled and Zabuza glared at them "We will carry him." The foxes all looked ready to pounce but the head foxe turned and addressed the foxes. "Allow them to do as they wish." The foxes gave one final glare before turning and followed the head fox.

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Naruto woke up in a relatively comfortable place he looked around and all he could see was wood and leaves. He looked around and noticed the only thing familiar in the place he was in was the red head standing next to him. "Where am I?" He asked still groggy from sleep.

Gaara looked thoughtful for a moment and then said "Well after you killed those two centipede demons some foxes showed up and brought us here. Haku is in one of the nearby treetop houses and Zabuza is speaking to the fox that brought us here. I'll go tell them you woke up." Then without another word he turned and ran out the door.

Naruto continued lying down in his bed until a thought struck him. _"Hey Kyuubi why do foxes have houses?" _Kyuubi snorted **"Naruto just because we're foxes does not mean we are stupid. All demons have human forms and with those human forms we built this place so that we could live more comfortably. I mean don't get me wrong I like the next patch of grass as much as the next animal but it can get rather irritating. What with the flees ticks and other things."**

'_Well I guess that makes sense' _His inner conversation was interrupted when Zabuza, Haku, Gaara and a man he didn't recognize walked into the room. He was wearing something that looked like battle armor and had long silver hair. "Ahh, I see your awake" He said staring at Naruto almost as if he was sizing him up. "I have heard from your companions Gaara, Zabuza and Haku how you got here. But I still do not know who told you of our existence."

Naruto smiled sheepishly. "He says that you already know who told me, to stop playing games and to take me to where the two rest. What ever that means." The fox smiled "Just the answer I expected. When I heard of what had happened to Kyuubi-sama I was shocked but I see now that it was probably a blessing in disguise."

He turned towards the door "Naruto please follow me the rest of you stay here I will send for you once this is all over" He started walking away and Naruto jumped out of bed and followed leaving behind three very confused humans..

"Hey I haven't gotten your name yet" Naruto said falling in step next to the man. "Oh please forgive me where are my manners. My name is Kurou. And you must be Naruto correct?" Naruto nodded smiling at the man.

Moments later they arrived at a pair of large stone gates. Kurou put his hand over it and silvery runes appeared over the gate. It glowed for a brief moment before it opened.

They walked inside

"**Now Naruto it is time to learn about your heritage…I can only hope your ready for the responsibility."**

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Well here's the new chap if I get about fifteen reviews I'll get the next chapter out later today

It will be much longer than this one. I was going to get the secret out in this chap but i decided to be evil and make yu wait


	4. Council of Demons and inheritance

Well here's the new chap.

It will either bring the fic to life or it will kill it in my opinion.

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Naruto stepped into the large doorways and found a room that was carved directly into the stone in a perfect circle. In the center of the room were two…beds it seemed. They were made out of stone and were about three feet off the ground He was a little hesitant to move forward since he wasn't sure he was allowed to. He glanced at Kurou and noticed that he hadn't moved into the room with him.

Naruto glanced back and noticed that he was still at the door way. Kurou seeing his unasked question answered for him. "From this point on I cannot go with you. What lies beyond this door is for you and you alone." With that the doors closed leaving Naruto inside the room by himself.

Naruto turned back around and walked towards the two stone beds in the center of the room. He couldn't see the people that were laying on them but he decided to find out.

He got to one of the beds and climbed on top of it. He got up and looked at the person that was laying on each of the beds. The first was a man with spiky blond hair and a large white coat with flames at the bottom of it. He gazed at the second person.

It was a woman with long reddish/orangey hair. She had fangs and claws. She was wearing a dark blue kimono with sakura blossoms around it. Naruto didn't know why but he felt a sense that he had met both of these people before. _'Kyuubi who are these people?' _ He didn't even recognize his own voice.

Kyuubi took a deep breath and closed his eyes. **"These Naruto…these are your parents"** Naruto felt his breath catch in his throat and tears welling up in his eyes._ 'Who are they?'_ Kyuubi let a small smile grace his lips. **"The male is Kazama Arashi the fourth Hokage of Konoha and your father. The female is Shani…"** Kyuubi stopped _'What about her Kyuubi? Why wont you say anything about her?'_

"**Shani was destined to become the most powerful demon in history just like your father became the strongest ninja. She was powerful, decisive, strict, stubborn to a fault and never asked for help. But she was also kind compassionate and always wanted to help others. And I couldn't be more proud of her." **Naruto cried a little bit when he heard this. But the he heard Kyuubi's next words.

"**She was…my daughter!" ** Naruto soon found himself in his mindscape looking at a very sad looking Kyuubi. **"I'm sorry Naruto. I truly am sorry my grandson." **Naruto stood and ran into the cage and hugged Kyuubi's leg and cried. Kyuubi just held him there not saying anything.

After Naruto was done crying Kyuubi sat down. **"It is time I explain myself Naruto." **

"**When I heard about your mothers choice for who she wanted to marry or mate with as we demons call it. I decided to observe this man. At first I wanted to find something that would drive my daughter away from him since he was a human and she was a full demon. However the more I observed the more I began to respect the man.**

"**Your parents were alike in the sense that they always wanted to help others and were always putting themselves in danger for the sake of others. I began respecting the man more and more until eventually I found he was the only one that was worthy of my daughter. When your mother sent news that you would be born I visited several times during the pregnancy.**

**At the ninth month I was once again on my way to Konoha but while I was walking then everything around me went black. I knew it was what humans call a genjutsu and I was truly curious as to who would be stupid enough to try and attack me. But all I could see was a pair of gold eyes with slits. Before I was completely enveloped in darkness. I tried to break free but it was no use.**

**He drove me temporarily insane with the large number of genjutsu he placed on me. That was the reason I attacked your city. Your mother was in no condition to fight me, being pregnant with you, and your father though extremely strong in his own right was not able to defeat me. The night you were born both your father and your mother knew that the only choice was to seal me.**

**Since it would take far too long for your mother to get back to her full strength they started the process. **

**Sealing a human and sealing a demon are two very different things. Naruto. When you seal a human their soul and their chakra is practically chained together then when you take one you automatically take the other. However sealing a demon is much more difficult. You must first take all of said demons chakra and then you can take the soul.**

**Obviously I had more chakra than your father. But that's where your mother came in. Now normally your mother and I were almost even when it came to chakra capacity. However since she had just given birth she was very exhausted she was only able to match about seven of my tails. **

**Your father however was able to absorb the rest and was then able to take my soul and my power and seal them within you. Normally such a process would have killed the users but I luckily when I was being sucked into the seal I struck a deal with Shinigami your fathers life and your mothers life in exchange for ten thousand years of my life. Shinigami was almost more than happy to accept.**

**I also told Sarutobi to tell one of the ape tribe since the foxes and apes get along relatively well. The members of my clan came merely three hours after my attack and took your parents. They did not take you with them because your mother wanted you to be raised among humans. After what they did to you however, I could no longer stand by and watch." **

Kyuubi looked back at Naruto who was sitting holding his head between his knees crying. Kyuubi walked over to him and put a hand on his shoulder. Naruto hugged him and cried into his robe.

They just stayed like that for several minutes until Naruto was finally able to calm down. "Kyuubi when will they wake up?" He asked still a little teary eyed. Kyuubi shook his head sadly.

"**Shinigami assured me that they would wake but he did not say when. Which brings me to my second reason for bringing you here. Your mother was the last demon in over twenty thousand years to have the potential to become what only one other had the power to become. But I sense that you have even more potential than her. But I will not explain this here when you are ready leave this room and tell Kurou to take you and Gaara to the chamber of the great demons."**

And with that Naruto was once again in the real world staring at the sleeping form of his mother and father. He stayed there staring at them for hours almost begging for them to awaken. He started talking to them after a few hours. When he ran out of things to say he observed them a little more before he finally got up and left.

When he finally left the room Zabuza, Haku, and Kurou were sleeping outside while Gaara was waiting for him. Still not sleeping.

Naruto smiled at him sheepishly "Hey Gaara." Gaara's left eye twitched indicating that he was very annoyed "You have been gone for fourteen hours fifty-three minutes forty two seconds and all you can say to me is HEY GAARA!" Naruto jumped and gave a small 'Eeep' of surprise he could tell that he was walking a fine line between life and death.

"Ehehehe, well-" He was saved as Kurou yawned loudly and woke up. He blinked sleepily at Narut9o and then looked back at Gaara. "Hey Kurou, Kyuubi wants you to take Gaara and me to the Chamber of the great demons or something." Kurou's eyes widened slightly at that.

'_But that could only mean that Kyuubi-sama wants to gather the council of greater demons. But that hasn't been done since Naruto's mother was born…could it be that Kyuubi-sama wants Naruto to inherit the position his mother was supposed to occupy before the incident six years ago'_

Kurou stood up and straightened his battle armor. "Very well follow me." He turned and started walking away. "Where the hell do you think your going?" Zabuza said as he lazily opened one eye and stared at them." Kurou turned back around "We are going to the chamber of greater demons and you-"\

"Can't follow yeah yeah" He said rolling onto his side trying to find sleep Naruto grinned "We'll be back soon Zabuza."

"Sure like fourteen hours soon. I bet"

Naruto shrugged and kept following Kurou.

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The three of them walked up through the trees in the area that they had been it was broun and green like a normal forest but as they continued to ascend it slowly went from normal looking wood to white wood with small bright white lights over them, that seemed to be stars from a distance.

It almost looked like a holy place. (Imagine the city of the elves in lord of the rings)

They once again stood infront of two large stone doors. Kurou stood to the side as the door opened. "Once again the both of you are the only ones that can enter I am not allowed." Naruto and Gaara nodded walking in.

The doors closed behind them with an audible crash.

In the darkness of the room two stone platforms glowed one then started pouring out sand and the other caught on fire. Naruto and Gaara were a little confused. **"You must stand on the platform covered in flames and Gaara must stand on the platform that is pouring out sand." **Naruto told Gaara and they both stood on their respective platforms.

Both platforms glowed and raised themselves in the air almost by magic. They elevated about twenty feet off the ground. Other platforms glowed on the ground and lifted themselves off the ground as well. Eight platforms to be exact.

They all erupted in blue flames. From those blue flames other creatures. A bear came out to Gaara's right. Then a two tailed rat from his left followed by a three tailed bull, then a four tailed sea serpent, then a five tailed lion then a six tail feathered bird, then a seven tailed wolf and finally an eight headed snake.

The platforms formed a perfect circle.

"**Why have we been summoned here"** Bellowed the five tailed lion in a voice that was deep and held an air of wisdom to it.

"**Naruto allow me to take over for now" **Naruto nodded and immediately relinquished control to his grandfather. The chakra flared in the room making everyone remember exactly who was within there presence. **"Kyuubi I thought you were dead!"** Exclaimed the three tailed bull **"No I was not killed merely imprisoned"**

"**So have you summoned us here in order to free you then?" **Asked the four tailed sea serpent with a flowing feminine voice. **"No if you remove me by force then it will kill the boy and that I do not want. I do however want you to fix the seal on Shukaku's vessel. If you do not then Shukaku will continue his madness." **

The bear looked towards Gaara **"Boy show me the seal" **Gaara showed him the seal placed on the back of his neck **'Hmm your right the seal is very ineffective. Hold still boy" **The bear extended his giant claw and touched Gaaras seal with the very tip of it. A bright green light went through out the room for a brief moment. When it died down Gaara collapsed on his knees in a coughing fit.

"**There Shukaku should be back to normal now" **The bear said moving back to his original position on his platform. Gaara looked back at the bear "Umm, thanks"** "Yeah thanks a lot you over grown furball" **Said an overly loud voice within his mind. Gaara froze he recognized this voice from his dreams "Sh-shukaku?" He said with fear in his voice. **"Who else brat? Sorry for not letting you sleep before but I wasn't exactly myself. But don't worry I'll let you sleep now. But right now let me take over your body so I can speak with the council."**

'_How do I know you wont go crazy and start killing everyone?' _Gaara mentally asked **"Boy look around you. We are in a closed room surrounded by DEMONS! WHO COULD TEAR ME TO SHREADS! THE ONLY ONE I MIGHT HAVE A CHANCE OF DEFEATING WOULD BE THE TWO TAIL AND NO TAIL"** Shukaku gave a sigh of exhaustion and Gaara blushed from embarrassment.** "Now will you please allow me to take over?"**

Gaara nodded he closed his eyes and when he opened them again his eyes were the ones of Shukaku

The eight headed snake snorted "**You always were soft Kyuubi but I never expected you to willingly remain imprisoned into this puny human boy just because he'll die"**

Kyuubi/Naruto glared at him **"Listen Hashimata I do not explain my actions to you or to anyone. But there is a reason and we are here to discuss that very reason."**

"**Bah I say we destroy all the humans. They overestimate themselves and believe that with their Ninjutsu they can defeat any opponent"** The snake snorted in disgust.

"**Do you remember nothing our great leader once said?" **The lion roared in slight anger** "We were taught to use our power wisely. NOT ABUSE IT! Destroying the human race is something that he would never have approved of"**

"**And he died defending humans we would have survived, he was nothing but a fool" **All the demons turned back to him with rage in their eyes **"You listen here you eight headed freak one more word like that and I personally rip you apart piece by piece" **The seven tailed wolf said snarling.

"**Despite the fact that out burst was uncalled for. I have to agree with Hashimata. The humans have become arrogant and greedy they are no longer satisfied with the power they have. They desire more and are damaging themselves and the environment through war and other things. Thus harming natural creatures and different territories. They must be stopped" **The four tailed sea serpent said.

"**Each of those are valid arguments however, we cannot stop the flow of time forever. The time that we demons have spent on this earth is coming to an end I suspect that in another ten thousand years we will no longer be here. Leaving it up to the humans to take over for us. It is by them the fate of the world shall be decided." **The seven tailed wolf said.

"**The humans in charge are you mad?" **The two tailed rat said finally joining the conversation **"No two tail he is right I suspect that we don't have that much longer to stay on this earth. It will be left to the humans once we are gone" **The five tailed lion said to him.

"**I must disagree with you. Nature should be allowed to take over. The humans will destroy everything it will never work" **The three tailed bull said outing his own two cents into the conversation.

"**I must agree with the three tail on this one" **The bear said.

"**Even though I believe most humans are evil I have also sensed that much good can come from them as well. Even though they have imprisoned me I believe that they should be given the chance" **Shukaku said looking at the others.

"**I agree with Shukaku" **Kyuubi said **"I agree with him as well" **The six tailed bird said having remained silent up until that point.

Hashimata snarled **"Then we will never reach a decision with the ten of us it leaves us with a split vote"**

(Count them ten. Bear/kill, Shukaku/no kill, Rat/kill, Bull/kill, Sea serpent/kill, Lion/no kill, Bird/no kill, Wolf/no kill, Snake/kill, Kyuubi/no kill.)

Kyuubi/Naruto smirked. **"Then we will have to have the eleventh one make the decision"**

"**The eleventh?" **The snake asked

"**What do you speak of Kyuubi? There has not been an eleventh member on the council since the ten tailed dragon stood among us. The only other that had any hope of filling his place was your daughter who had the potential to surpass even you. But she is still in deep sleep due to the incident six years ago"**

"**True but what if there was another that could become the ten tailed demon." **The snake snorted **"As much as I hate to admit it I'm at the limit of my growth I can not hope to become powerful enough to do such a thing"**

"**He's right Kyuubi the only one that had the potential to become a ten tailed demon was your daughter but it cannot happen now that she is in that sleep of hers" **The lion said looking at Kyuubi curiously

"**Even if there was another besides her we would still be split only a direct descendant of ours can become a member of the council" **The sea serpent said

"**Which is what brings me to my next point. This boy that I am sealed in…" **He paused **"Is a direct descendant of mine or more specifically my grandson he has even more potential than what his mother had"** Everyone gasped at both declarations

"**So she truly did have a son…ahh yes I can smell her scent on him now. But he is a half demon. And I also sense that his demonic blood has not activated" **The wolf said sniffing at him. Kyuubi shrugged **"Your absolutely right but I will train him and activate his demonic blood I'm sure that all of you can sense just how much potential he possesses"** They all examined Naruto making there eyes glow a faint gold color. **"Yes your right he might just surpass his mother"**

"**Do we have an agreement then?" **Kyuubi asked.

"**Wait I find this un fair a half demon raised among humans would surely grow a soft spot for them. His judgment would be favored toward them." **Kyuubi glared at the snake. **"Don't assume so much hashimata. The village where he lived hates him believing that he is me and have tried several assassination attempts on him. Now I ask again do we have a deal? Will you accept Naruto as your leader should he gain the rank of ten tail" **They all nodded.

The bear stepped forward **"I Kento of the forest agree to these terms"**

Shukaku stepped forward **"I Shukaku of the desert agree to these terms"**

The rat stepped forward **"I Ramir of the night agree to these terms"**

The bull stepped forward. **"I Maeda of the earth agree to these terms"**

The sea serpent stepped forward **"I Mirishi of the sea and ice agree to these terms"**

The Lion stepped forward **"I Miratoku of the sun and day agree to these terms" **

The eagle stepped forward **" I Gashhir of the mountain and thunder agree to these terms"**

The wolf stepped forward **"I Taroshi of the moon and sky agree to these terms"**

The eight headed snake slithered forward **"I Hashimata of the grass and tree agree to these terms"**

They all spoke in unison **"Kyuubi of the blood and flame we agree to your terms." **The platforms glowed and then all of the creatures vanished. Naruto and Gaara were transported outside the chamber where they were already unconsioius.

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Well that's the end of this chap review and make comments if you didn't like it.


	5. Demons gifts

Well here's the new chap hope you like it.

I was very relieved when you guys said you liked the last chap.

Any way lets get on with the story.

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Naruto and Gaara woke up still at the foot of the giant stone doors.

They both stood and blinked wondering where they were for a few seconds. But then they saw the doors and realized exactly where they were. They both stood and started dusting themselves off. "Umm what happened?" Naruto asked looking around. "Don't know but what I do know is that my seal is fixed now." Naruto smiled and nodded.

"**Naruto Shukaku and I have spoken to the council. We must leave now there is much to discuss. Oh and tell that Gaara kid he should speak to Shukaku" **Naruto nodded. "Hey Gaara Kyuubi said that you should try to speak to Shukaka or whatever." Gaara and Kyuubi sweat dropped, while Shukaku was raving inside of Gaara's mind **"Shukaku you idiot. SHU-KA-KU! Its not that difficult." **

Gaara shook his head still trying to get used to the hyper active voice in his mind. "Hey Naruto I want to say thanks for helping me fix my seal" _'I think' _ Naruto grinned and shook his head. "You don't have to do that Gaara. What are friends for?"

They were about to walk back but they noticed Zabuza, Haku and Kurou walking towards them. "HAKU, ZABUZA!" Naruto exclaimed running over to them completely unaware of the growing danger that was Momochi Zabuza.

He was upon Naruto in an instant "You little bastard…Haku has had me looking for you all night." He grabbed Naruto by the collar and pulled him up. He then proceded to shake him so much it's a wonder his skull remained attached "DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT LITTLE AMOUNT OF SLEEP I GOT LAST NIGHT! I AM NOT HAPPY."

Gaara meanwhile was trying to sneak away unnoticed but Zabuza turned his anger on him when he caught sight of his movements. "AND YOU" Gaara didn't have time to blink as Zabuza ran right behind him and hit him in the back of the head. Gaara clutched his head and got on his knees rubbing the sore spot.

"Hey Zabuza it was nothing really we were perfectly safe" Naruto said with Anime swirly eyes. Zabuza growled and Gaara got back to his feet still rubbing his head. "Why the hell didn't my sand protect me?" He asked himself still rubbing his head.

"**Because I thought it would be funny to see you get hit." **Shukaku said laughing a little. Gaara mentally glared at him. "Well I don't care how hard I hit you. I want an explination from the both of you especially Naruto. You've been running around this place for reasons that I don't know and I hate being kept in the dark." He took out Kubbikiri letting the massive blade imbed itself into the floor by just letting the weight fall on it. "Start talking"

Naruto and Gaara both gulped loudly. They started explaining almost instantly.

At the end Zabuza was staring at both of them as if they had grown second heads. "Sooo, your telling me, that you…" He pointed to Gaara "Have a sand demon inside of you. And you…" He pointed at Naruto. "Have one of the most powerful demons in the known world sealed inside of you?" They both nodded. Zabuza looked at Kurou "What's the strongest kind of liquor you got?"

Kurou shook his head with a small smile on face. "Follow me Zabuza-san. Haku could you please take both of them to the place I showed you?" Haku nodded smiling. "Come on Kurou showed me where we would stay and train" All Naruto and Gaara started running after Haku.

"What the hell did I get myself into?" Zabuza muttered under his breath.

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Naruto, Gaara and Haku all arrived at the house and after some rough housing and making a complete mess Zabuza arrived almost totally drunk and yelled at them to go to sleep because he had a headache. They were going to complain about none of them being tired but Zabuza's hand edging closer and closer to Kubikiri was all it took for them to shut up and go to sleep.

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Gaara's mindscape

Gaara was standing in the middle of the desert. Suddenly a massive sand dune rose up and formed into Shukaku. Gaara took a step back in fear. Shukaku looked at him and sighed. **"Look brat I already told you I wont be eating your mind or anything like that okay. I came to speak to you. I am willing to give you all of my power. If you accept to take this power then I will train you in your sleep. I will teach you all of the techniques I know."**

"Umm, okay"

"**Wait for me to finish brat. Once you absorb my power then you will become the new one tailed beast therefore a member of the demon's council do you still accept?"**

Gaara thought for a moment. "If I absorb your power will I be able to get the village to accept me for who I am?" Shukaku smiled to himself. **_'Hmm I was right this boy does have a kind heart on the inside. It would have been destroyed with those ignorant humans however. I'm glad Kyuubi found him just a little more and he would have broken.'_**

"**Yes boy I believe that you will eventually manage to do it. It will take time and patience however." **Gaara smiled at Shukaku. "Then I accept" Shukaku smiled happily. **"Good"** Sand swirled next to Gaara in a small tornado when it cleared an large spear was stabbed directly into the ground. Gaara walked over and picked it up. It was almost twice his size but was fairly light. It was a double edged spear with a crescent like curve on both sides of the blade. On the handle was an engraved message it read.

"_The desert sands will always defend the wielder of this spear" _**"A gift from me to you brat. Get that Zabuza guy to teach you how to use it."** Shukaku then looked up almost as if looking for something. **"Ah I sense that Mirishi has something in store for that Haku kid as well"** Gaara looked back at him "What do you mean Shukaku?" **"Nothing brat its time to go back to sleep now"** Gaara nodded and weant back to sleep. **"Time to pass the torch I guess"** He started channeling his chakra into his seal.

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Haku's mindscape

Haku stood in the middle of a calm ocean. You could see nothing but water everywhere. He stayed thee staring in wonder at the sight. But then he noticed a shadow fall over him. He turned and found a large sea serpent almost one hundred feet high staring down at him he stepped back wondering what the hell this thing was planning to do with him. "What in the-"

"**Do not be afraid child. I will not harm you." **The serpent lowered itself so only the top part of its head would be seen. "What do you want?" Haku asked still wary of the beast.

"**I remember now. I believed I felt a familiar presence when I came here to the council gathering today. It was you, I remember it very clearly now. Three hundred years ago humans managed to capture a small piece of my essence and seal it within another. It descended through the generations. But it is weekend mixing with so many humans over time. And I sense you are the last. Yes it is you, you are the last human that possess a piece of my essence."**

"I'm not sure what you mean" The serpent paused for a moment. **"My essence is what you humans call a bloodline limit. And I sense that you are the last one to possess it. Am I correct in my assumption young one?" **Haku was looking to his feet and was sobbing silently remembering what had happened to his mother and what he was forced to do in order to survive.

"**I see your entire family are dead then" **The serpent didn't know why but it felt compelled to help this child perhaps because part of her was inside of him. **"Young one, I can help you become stronger boy do you want that?" **Haku looked up at the creature with a few tears still running down his face "Will you give me the strength to help Zabuza, Naruto and Gaara. So that I can protect them. They are the only ones that consider me more than just a monster." The snake nodded making a few waves in the water.

Haku looked right into the snakes eyes "Then do what you want"

Two small dagers came out of the water. **"Take these weapons and I shall grant your desire young one." **Haku walked over to each one of the weapons he noticed that they were both short daggers who's hilts were made out of something that looked like a crystal. He grabbed it and a bright blue flash went through the entire ocean.

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Naruto's mindscape.

Naruto once again found himself within his own mind. But it was different this time he was standing in a palin that seemed to go on forever. He felt the warm breeze against his face. But then suddenly the skies turned dark with a tint of red. He started seeing fights. Battles that went on for months. Soldiers dying the screams and cries for help. The thundering sound of explosions the roar of battle he felt it all pounding against his head. He felt as if he was going to go insane.

But just as it had begun it stopped and Naruto found himself standing in a shrine. It was at the very summit of a mountain. He gazed down and saw clouds directly below him. Once again visions flooded his mind. But this time the images were peaceful ones. People laughing enjoying themselves playing laughing and other things of that nature.

He turned into the temple it was layered in gold with a statue of the Buda in the center. He started to walk in when he suddenly heard Kyuubi's voice.

"**What you saw young Naruto, were the visions of a future that you will create." **Naruto turned and found Kyuubi or his grandfather walking over to him. "What do you mean?" Kyuubi steeped closer until he was about three feet away. **"Naruto, what do you think the ten tailed beast controls"** Naruto stayed quiet **"Don't know eh? Well then I'll tell you. A ten tailed beast or one that has the potential to become one is gifted with the powers of light and darkness. They are the ones that must choose which side they will favor.**

**You as the one that we have found worthy of the title of the ten tail have the choice to accept this power like your mother before you. You are the one who will chose the worlds fate. **

**Darkness"** Images of flames, screams of agony, pain, torture, death all of these things came into his mind.

"**Or light"** Peace once again flooded his mind he then found himself standing infront of the Kyuubi again. Kyuubi held out a sword for him to grab. **"This sword has only been wielded by two others. The first was the ten tailed Dragon the second was your mother it controls the powers of light and darkness. It can find any amount of Demonic blood in another and bring it to the surface. If you take this weapon. Then you are forever bound to this sword just as it is bound to you. **

**Do you accept this responsibility Uzumaki Naruto?" **Kyuubi asked still holding out the sword infront of him. Naruto thought long and hard. Would he be able to accept such responsibility.

After a long time he finally extended his hand grasping the sword. Kyuubi smiled **"You've made me proud boy"** A bright flash came from the sword and then everything went black.

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All three boys woke up with a start and then they proceeded to…

Scream in pure agony.

Zabuza busted down the door and moved into the room sword already drawn. What he saw shocked him

Haku was glowing blue, he was growing small fangs and some strange markings forming on his face that almost looked like small scales. The entire part of his room was freezing. Spikes of ice shot out from the wall and floor.

Gaara was glowing in an amber color with sand pouring out from underneath him wrapping him in a coccon. Before he was completely consumed Zabuza noticed that he was also showing fangs of his own.

Naruto was glowing a blood red. His part of the room was almost completely set ablaze. His whisker marks were becoming more defined and was growing claws and fangs. Then Two dragons one black with red eyes and one silvery white with blue eyes came from his seal. They both started fighting one trying to destroy the other. Neither succeeded. They both went straight up and came right back down slamming into Naruto's stomach right where the seal was.

The moment they came into contact with Naruto another bright flash of light consumed the entire forest. Zabuza closed his eyes and when he opened them again. The boys were still in the same spot. But they had stopped screaming and he then took in all of there changes.

Haku was a bit paler he had small whitish silver streaks in his hair. He had what looked like scales on the back of his neck. Zabuza then noticed two daggers at his side. The hilts and sheath looked to be made out of some kind of crystal it almost looked like a diamond.

He turned to Gaara and noticed he now had a tail and ears that were made out of sand. Zabuza also took notice of a rather sharp looking spear at his side.

He looked to Naruto. Nothing to different except he was a little taller it seemed, he also had some red streaks in his hair. And a rather elegant looking sword at his side.

He checked their vital signs and then opened there eyes. He had to surpress a gasp. Narutos eyes were a gold color with slits, Gaara had the same eyes as Shukaku and Haku had eyes that were a light blue color and his eyes were green colored slits. He stared for several moments before walking back out thinking _'Never follow some strange blond haired brat through the forest again.'_

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Well that's the end of this chap.

Also people if you want I can skip the entire training and just have his return to Konoha in the next chap and save the results of their training for a few surprises or I could put the training in the next chap. But it is not entirely necessary. choose


	6. The return to Konoha and the Genin exam

I'm sorry I'm so sorry. My mistake I uploaded the same chapter twice hope you an forgive me.

Also for some questions.

How big is Gaara's tail? It is proportional to his body so lets say if he's three feet tall his tail will be a foot and a half or two feet long.

Will Naruto grow a tail? Not sure I might do it I might not.

Anyway lets get on with the story

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Naruto and his friends were walking through the forest. After six years it was finally time to leave. Naruto was both exited and saddened by this. He had grown to really love the forest of demons and the inhabitants of said forest.

Naruto had a long white coat with black and red battle armor underneath. Haku had a light leather armor that was light blue and silvery white. Zabuza was still wearing the same bandages on his face but he now had a dark blue metal armor. And Gaara wore normal clothing that was mostly black or dark brown.

Gaara was saddened as well. But as the new Shukaku he was the guardian of the desert and he could not abandon the responsibility he had decided to take on when he was younger.

Zabuza had learned different forms of swordsmanship and ancient water jutsus that were lost through time, from different scrolls that the demons had within their possession. Haku had fully mastered the use of his two daggers and his blood line limit as well as several water jutsus and medical jutsus.

Gaara had learned every technique that Shukaku had to teach him and had even invented some of his own. Naruto had fully mastered the use of the sword Kyuubi had given him and had even learnt a few of the darkness and light techniques that the sword had to offer.

He had fully mastered the fire element due to the fact that fox demons had a natural ability to control flames.

They reached the edge of the forest. A sight that they had not seen in over six years. They all turned back to the foxes that were ordered to guard them. They gave a deep bow and the foxes did the same. They were about to turn and walk away but Kurou held out a hand and stopped them. "Wait Naruto-sama. Before you leave here we wish to present to you gifts that will aid you in your endeavors." He motioned with his hand and four more fox demons walked over to them.

The first approached Gaara. He handed him a light brown cloak that had black demonic runes running from the top to the bottom. The fox bowed deeply. "Gaara as the new lord of the one tail we present you with this cloak. It can absorb almost any elemental jutsu that humans know. All but the most powerful jutsus will be useless against you. Gaara nodded and put the cloak on without another word. The fox stepped back.

The next one steeped over to Haku. He handed him two small crystal bottles. One had a light blue liquid inside of it and the other had black liquid in it. Haku looked confused for a moment but the fox explained. "The bottle with the blue liquid can cure any poison or illness. The bottle with the black liquid contains one of the most potent poisons we have. One drop can slay up to twenty fox demons.

Haku nodded and the fox one again stepped back. Another fox walked up to Zabuza. "Your sword please Zabuza-san" Zabuza eyed him for a moment wondering if he should give him the blade. After a few moments he decided to give him the sword.

The fox took the blade in one hand and then in the other gray flames appered. He touched the blade with the flames. It glowed for a brief moment before it died down. The fox demon then handed him the sword. "This blade is now completely un break able and can cut through almost any material. Zabuza took the blade and noticed that it was just slightly heavier. He shrugged thinking it was a small price to pay for the extra toughness.

Kurou walked over to Naruto and handed him a scroll. "Naruto-sama this is the scroll to the demon fox clan or should I say your clan. If you are ever in danger and need assistance do not hesitate to call on us" Naruto nodded and put the scroll in his pocket. They bowed to each other and walked off.

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The four of them walked for several hours before they reached the road. Naruto then turned to the others and gave a sad smile. "Are you sure you don't want to come back to Konoha with me you guys?" They gave him sad smiles as well. Gaara was the first to step forward "I'm sorry Naruto but you know the rules as the new one tail I have to defend my territory. And Konoha is not within my territory." Zabuza and Haku stepped forward next.

"Sorry brat but I still want to find some way to stop the senseless killing that the mist ninjas do to each other and I can't do that as a Konoha ninja." Haku gave a small apologetic smile to Naruto. "Zabuza was the first to ever see me as a human being and I wish to help him fulfill his dream." Naruto sighed and nodded.

The others knowing that the longer they remain the harder it would be to actually leave all turned and started walking different directions.

Naruto looked back at them and yelled out. "HEY GAARA, HAKU!" They both turned around and Naruto smiled at them. "Lets make a promise." They walked over to him "What kind of promise?" Haku asked him.

Naruto smiled even more. "I was thinking since we were all considered monsters in our homes. Why don't we promise each other that no matter what happens we'll always remain friends. Or perhaps brothers even." The other two boys gave wide smiles, something that was rare for Gaara especially. "I think that's a great idea." Haku agreed and Gaara nodded.

"Great from this day on we will always be brothers." They put there hands together and Zabuza couldn't suppress the small smile that graced his lips. He felt happy for them. Over the course of six years he had come to consider them like nephews or sons even. But he sure as hell wasn't to them or to anyone.

Then without another word all of them left following their dreams and ambitions.

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Naruto had been walking through the forest for three days and was starting to really get annoyed at the fact that he still hadn't reached the village.

Just then almost as if on cue he was standing in front of said gates. Three Anbu members jumped down "Halt state your business here in Konoha. Naruto narrowed his eyes a little knowing what the reaction would be if he said who he was. So he decided to ask the simple question that would decide weather or not he would stay. "Who is the Kage of this village?"

The guards gave each other curious glances before answering "Umm, The Hokage of this village is named Sarutobi. But why do you ask stranger?" Naruto smirked. The guards were onfused by this but then the blade at his side glowed a faint black color. Naruto was then swallowed into a black sphere. The sphere disappeared leaving nothing but empty space.

The Anbu all immediately started heading towards the Hokages office while calling for backup on the radio.

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Sarutobi was sitting in his desk sorting through paperwork. But then all the windows in his office closed and a dark shadow went over the floor like a large black sheet. Sarutobi stood up ready for an attack. The shadows all gathered and formed a perfectly round sphere.

"**_Sandaime" _**The voice sounded as if it belonged to some malevolent spirit. Sarutobi started doing hand seals. **"Katon Karyuu Endan!" **He yelled making a large fire dragon head straight for the ball of darkness. The ball opened and out of it came a black dragon with glowing red eyes.

Both dragons collided making a rather large explosion. When the flames dissipated Naruto stood his entire upper body completely covered in shadows. Sarutobi took a taijutsu stance. "Why have you come here?" Naruto just laughed a little. "What's the matter old man? Can't remember me?"

Sarutobi tensed his muscles "No I'm afraid not." Naruto narrowed his eyes. "Are you sure?" He asked making black flames swirl around him. Sarutobi took a step back in slight fear. He had never seen black flames before. He had heard of them from some anbu that had attempted to kill Uchiha Itachi and failed but that was only bits and pieces that he could gather from reports.

"I'm offended that you don't remember me old man…I'm really hurt." The flames grew more violent. Sarutobi was definetly wondering who this man was and WHERE THE HELL THE ANBU WERE AT THIS TIME? Naruto started shaking. "I suppose since you don't remember me I'll just have to…" The flames were swirling so violently everything in Sarutobis office was starting to get sucked into them only to be turned into ash an instant later. "**_REMIND YOU!"_**

Naruto lunged at Sarutobi. The old man back flipped and did more hand seals. **"Katon Gokakyuu no jutsu" **a long stream of fire came from his mouth heading straight for Naruto. But to his surprise his attacker melted into shadows before he could get a good look at his attackers face.

Sarutobi then felt a presence very close behind him. He took out a kunai and put it to his attackers neck just as a blade that appeared to be made out of shadows was pressed against his. "Damn, looks like I still cant beat you" The voice held a pouting tone to it and Sarutobi was definitely wondering who in the seven hells of the earth his attacker was. The shadow blade lowered from his neck and he turned and found a pair of gold slits staring back at him.

He blinked several times. Looking at the boy who appeared to be no older than fourteen staring at him with a big smile on his face. "Umm, who are you?" Naruto frowned but he then remembered that he no longer had blue eyes. "Old man its me Naruto" Sarutobi's eyes went wide and then he remembered seeing Naruto's mother using techniques that involved dark shadows and things of the like.

"Boy is it really you?" He asked taking in the changes. No longer was Naruto short. He was now a good five eleven. He no longer had baby fat and you could tell even through the white coat just by the way he carried himself that he knew how to fight. Sarutobi then remembered something when he looked at Naruto's eyes.

"You've discovered your heritage have you?" Naruto scowled "Yeah I have. Why didn't you tell me about it old man?" Sarutobi gave him a sad smile. "Naruto with the way you were treated you might have blurted it out. Just because you may have thought that it would save you from one of the beatings. Now if you would have told them about your father then they would have asked about your mother. Now can you tell me what the villagers would have done if they would have found out that you are not only Kyuubi's container but his grandson as well."

Naruto held his glare for several moments before finally sighing and sitting down in a chair. "Fine I get it. So how can I become a ninja now that I'm back." Sarutobi looked shocked for a moment before smiling brightly. "It just so happens that the gennin exams are today. If you want I can give you special permission stating that you can take the exam." Naruto nodded and smiled.

Sarutobi smiled and started filling out a form and gave it to Naruto when he was done. Naruto smiled and took it. "Thanks old man." And with that he disappeared in a bright flash of white light.

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Iruka just finished going through the list of people in his class when suddenly a bright white flash outside his room caught his attention. He turned just as the door opened revealing a blond kid with gold slitted eyes. 'Umm, is this the class of Umino Iruka?" He asked looking around the class.

Iruka nodded. "Yes but why are you here young man?" Naruto handed him a note. Iruka took it and read it.

'_Umino Iruka I the Sandaime Hokage of Konoha have heard that you have a small problem in the division of students. This young man is very talented and I am sure that he will prove useful. Give him the normal genin exam and place him accordingly._

_Sighed: Sandaime Hokage of Konoha._

Iruka folded the note and looked back at Naruto. "So what is your name young man?" Naruto stiffened slightly. Something that Iruka definitely saw. _'What the hell is he so nervous about?'_

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto" Iruka had to stifle a gasp he paused for a moment collecting himself. "Please take a seat Uzumaki-san" Naruto was a little surprised. He thought he might have to argue with this guy and bring up the Hokage's order just to get a seat. But this man had surprised him.

He took the only seat available which was next to a kid with a dark blue shirt on and a fan on his back. Just by the symbol he recognized him as a Uchiha. "Uchiha may I sit here?" He asked gesturing the seat. "Sasuke raised an eyebrow before shrugging "Whatever." Naruto narrowed his eyes. He had studied human behavior in his time in the forest of demons.

He focused a little and searched through Sasuke's aura. Being one controlling the elements of light and darkness he could look into the minds of others and find out if these people had darkness within there hearts. He took a seat still focusing on Sasuke's aura.

He looked and found that Sasuke possessed goodness though it was hidden beneath self doubt, anger, jealousy and even hatred. He searched a little more and found something that surprised him.

Madness.

This Uchiha was bordering on the brink of madness. Naruto decided that if he got on the same team as this Uchiha that he would try to help him in some way. Even though he had no idea what the hell had happened to this kid.

He decided that such things could wait.

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Three days later Naruto was walking back to the academy. _'Hey grandpa why the hell did you tell me to get low scores in the exams' _He asked still quite pissed at his tenant/grandfather. Kyuubi yawned lazily. **"Because brat, I remember your father explaining about the way they set up these teams a few years back. The one with the top score will get set up with the one with the lowest score. Now if you would have gotten the top score you would have been placed on a team with the lowest scoring guy. But since you now have the lowest score your team has an advantage over the others.**

**Your going to have the strongest genin on your team and you, a kid that could most likely be able to beat most jounin in this village and is considered a C class demon bordering on B class in just six years of your training. I was right you do have more potential than your mother. She would have been proud." **

Naruto gave a small sad smile. _'I want to speak to them Kyuubi, just one time. That's all I need.' _Kyuubi sighed **"I know brat…I know"**

The rest of the walk was done in silence.

When Naruto finally arrived he took his usual seat next to Sasuke. "So Naruto, who's team will do you think you'll show up in." Sasuke asked. In all reality he could tell that Naruto was much stronger than he let on. You could tell just by the way he carried himself.

Naruto shrugged "No idea" Just then Iruka came into the room holding a work sheet. "I am now going to call the teams. Team one…"

He called all the teams

"Team seven will consist of "Uchiha Sasuke" He said Sasuke started paying attention. "Haruno Sakura" A girlish squeal was heard and Sasuke had to hold back from groaning and slapping his forehead. "And finally Uzumaki Naruto. Team eight will consist of…"

Sasuke glanced at Naruto and smirked. "You held back in the test didn't you?" Naruto said nothing. He merely laid back in his chair putting his arms behind his head and pulling the hood of his coat over his eyes. "I have no idea what your talking about Uchiha."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes slightly _'He's definitely hiding his true strength. But theres no chance he's stronger than me right… no of course not I'm an avenger. I have to be stronger than all of them.'_

Naruto once again sensed Sasuke's aura flare with self doubt and anger. _'That might prove troublesome in the future. I'll have to beat some sense into him I suppose'_

"Your instructors will be here shortly please wait here." With that Iruka left the room.

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A few hours later Naruto with the rest of team seven were waiting for there sensei. The other senseis had come shortly after the teams were assigned. But team seven was still waiting.

And waiting

And waiting

**Two long hours later**

Still waiting

**Another hour later**

Still waiting

FINALLY AFTER THREE AND A HALF HOURS OF WAITING! The door creaked open and a man with silver hair a face mask and a hitai ate covering his left eye entered the room. "Yo.." He started but was cut off as he was forced to dodge at least twenty kunai by bending himself backwards.

He straightened himself just in time to see a clawed hand reaching to tear his face apart. He narrowly dodged the claw making it hit the wall. The wall cracked slightly and then a pulse of energy. The wall and three walls behind it were no more. "YOUR LATE!" Naruto yelled at him. Kakashi sweatdroped while Sakura and Sasuke were staring in awe at the rubble that was once a wall.

Kakashi was impressed as well but he wasn't about to show it. "Let's meet on the roof shall we?" He then disappeared in a puff of smoke. Naruto blinked and then his face turned into an angry expression. **"That bastard did not just order us around without even apologizing. I'LL KILL HIM!"** Suddenly Naruto vanished in a white flash of light.

Sasuke looked at Sakura

Sakura looked at Sasuke

An explosion rocked the whole building

They both ran to the roof.

When they arrived at the roof they found Naruto riding a dragon that was silvery white and seemed to be shooting lightning bolts from his mouth. They saw Kakashi running around dodging the lightning bolts.

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Sarutobi looked out his balcony and saw Kakashi running through the rooftops with a large silver dragon shooting lightning bolts from behind him. He sighed and leaned back in his chair.

'_I told him not to be late. Naruto is just like his mother in that respect' _Then another thought entered his mind. He shot up like a rocket and called his secretary. "GET THE ANB U SPECIAL DIVISION WE HAVE TO STOP THOSE TWO NOW"

'_The longer they fight the more damage they do and the more damage they do the more paperwork I have to work through. NOOOOOOO!' _Chibi sandaime wailed within his mind.

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Another two hours later after many injured, destruction, burnt buildings, earthquakes ect.Sasuke, Sakura, Kakashi and Naruto who was tied with chakra ropes from head to toe were on the roof.

"Well that was…interesting." Kakashi decided to ignore Naruto who was looking to crawl over to him with intention to bite his leg off. He was unable to reach him due to the sixteen anbu holding him back.

"Allright you pinky start with your likes, dislikes dreams of the future start."

"Umm, my name is Haruno Sakura I like…" She glanced at Sasuke. "My dream for the future is…" She glanced back at Sasuke. "And I hate Ino-pig."

'_Well she's more focused on boys rather than training.' _"All right Uchiha your turn." He said pointing to Sasuke. "My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I don't like much and I dislike many things and my dream is more like an ambition. To kill a certain man"

Naruto and Kakashi both thought the same thing. _'Saw that coming a mile away and its still a kick in the gut' _"All right blondie your turn"

Naruto snarled at him "My name is Uzumaki Naruto, I like training I hate perverts and senseis that are late. My dream is to make my family proud of me" Kakashi narrowed his eyes. _'His family but I thought he was an orphan. I'll have to ask the Hokage later.'_

"All right we will meet tomorrow at training ground number seven for your real Genin exam." Sakura blinked "What? But sensei we already took a Genin exam" Kakashi sighed. "That was only to choose who had the potential to become a genin. You will take an exam that will decide weather your really genin material the test has a 66 percent rate of failure. Remember five AM: sharp. Oh and don't eat breakfast or you'll puke."

With that he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

The Anbu noticing that Kakashi was nowhere in sight released Naruto and disappeared in puffs of smoke. Naruto stood up muttering something about stupid senseis being late and making him destroy half the town.

He turned and noticed that the Uchiha was leaving and the Haruno girl was following him. He shrugged **"NOW I REMEMBER" **Kyuubi yelled in his mind making him wince. _'What the hell do you remember Kyuubi?'_ Kyuubi snickered a little in his mind. **"That man was your fathers student I remember seeing him when I was spying on your father. I'm pretty sure about the test he's going to give tomorrow…Oh yeah no matter what do not I repeat DO NOT! Get hit with the thousand years of death technique. Your father told me he did it to him when he took him as a student. Believe me that is one technique no one wants to get hit with." **

Naruto just shrugged "Fine" He started heading to his apartment.

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The next morning

Naruto walked into the clearing and noticed Sasuke was already there Sakura was sitting next to him. Naruto noticed that Kakashi still wasn't there he walked up to a tree and decided to fall asleep.

Naruto woke up to Sakura gently shaking him awake. "Umm, Naruto our sensei's here" Naruto glanced at Kakashi who waved at him with a small smile on his face. Naruto snarled and walked over.

"Kakashi ignored it and put an alarm clock on a stump. "Okay you guys have until noon to take these bells from me" He said holding up two bells. Sakura suddenly spoke up. "But there are only two bells sensei."

"Meaning that one of you will fail. You have to come at me with intent to kill. Get going now" They all ran off…well all except for Naruto who had a maniac grin on his face. **_"So, we can come at you with the intent to kill eh?" _**Kakashi was definetly regretting his words.

Naruto unsheathed his sword.

Kakashi was suddenly very glad that Sandaime had warned him to bring a sword. At first he was confused but seeing Naruto take a stance that was used by the seven swordsman of the hidden mist, he understood clearly what the Sandaime was warning him about.

He unrolled a scroll and out popped a sword.

He took the sword and settled in a fighting stance. "You know? I never really go all out with students let alone take out a sword. But I sense that you are much more skilled than any academy student"

Sakura and Sasuke were watching the scene with great interest.

Naruto smirked and his sword started to glow pure white. His coat waved as a sudden gust of wind hit him. His hair turned white and his gold eyes went white but remained with the slits. White flames gathered around the bottom of his feet. The flames moved and wrapped around the sword like a small tornado.

Naruto charged at Kakashi. The copy cat blocked the attack but was taken by surprise as the flames shot out like a snake aiming for his face. He moved his head to the side narrowly dodging the flame. He noticed the corner of his mask was singed.

He pushed Naruto off of him and stabbed his sword in the ground. He grabbed the sword again but it lit on fire when he touched it. He pointed at Naruto. "We can both play that game Naruto" Naruto smirked and charged again.

After a few swings and blocks from both parties Naruto jumped back and held out his free hand trying to grasp something. Kakashi was confused but he soon noticed the flames of his sword were moving from his sword like a snake and gathering into Narutos hand.

Naruto grinned and made some signs with his hand. Kakashi recognized them as sign language and his eyes widened in shock.

'_Foxes can control flames Kakashi' _

Kakashi then vanished. Naruto's eyes widened slightly but then he sensed Kakashi behind him. He turned and found Kakashi crouched behind him with his hands in the seal of the tiger.

"ONE THOUSAN-" He was cut of as Naruto spun around and kicked him in the face with his right foot first. Kakashi's head jerked back and came back.Naruto then slammed his left foot into his face still in the same motion as his first kick.

Kakashi went flying. He flipped in mid air and landed crouched. He searched for Naruto but he couldn't see him anywhere. He then suddenly heard the sound of clapping hands behind him. His face turned into a look of horror he turned and found Naruto with a sadistic smirk on his face and his hands into the tiger seal.

"Is this what you were planning to do to me Kakashi-sensei?" Then before Kakashi could blink Naruto had done the unthinkable.

He had used Konoha's supreme taijutsu technique. One thousand years of death on Hatake Kakashi the copy ninja of konoha.

OH HELL NO!

Sakura was trying desperately to hold back her laughs. Sasuke was thinking they were a bunch of idiots while secretly agreeing that it was indeed funny.

Kakashi landed in a lake. Naruto went into hiding. Sasuke and Sakura were waiting for Kakashi to come to the surface. The lake suddenly exploded sending water everywhere. Kakashi stood on the surface. His Konoha forehead protector ripped off letting everyone see the Sharingan eye he was known for. Only two words were going through his mind at the moment and those words were.

_**KILL BLOND**_

A few minutes later.

Kakashi had managed to unleash some of his anger dispatching the Uchiha and Haruno. BUT HE WAS STILL GOING TO **_MURDER_** THE BLOND HAIRED ABOMINATION FROM THE DEPTHS OF HELL

Just then Naruto jumped in front of him, grinning like an idiot. Kakashi saw red. "**YOU"** He started making hand seals for his prized jutsu. "CHIDORI" He yelled charging at him.

(I know that Kakashi is a little OC but hell he just got hit by thousand years of death. I know that I'd be pissed as hell okay. Anyway this is the only chap Kakashi's going to be acting like this for all the Kakashi fans.)

Naruto held the sword infront of him. Kakashi came forward and thrust his chidori aiming for Naruto.

But his attack suddenly stopped and he found himself staring in disbelief as a wall made up of purely white feathers was able to stop his most powerful attack.

Naruto emerged from the feathers and pointed his sword towards Kakashi. Just then all the feathers were pointing directly at Kakashi. They glowed silver. Then hundreds of beams of light shot out aiming for Kakashi. Kakashi used the head hunrter jutsu and appeared behind Naruto. He then delivered a strong kick to the back of Narutos head sending him flying. Naruto skidded to a stop but just then the bell rang singnalling the end of the exam.

"Damn" He muttered under his breath. He stood up and started dusting himself off. But then an ominous feeling of doom overcame him. He turned and found Kakashi staring down at him with flames of pure anger in his eyes. Naruto gulped and rubbed the back of his head while laughing sheepishly.

He knew that the test was about teamwork but then he got caught up in how much fun he was having torturing the copy cat he forgot there was a time limit.

The next thing Naruto knew he was tied to a stump. With two of Kakashi's clones each with Chidoris in their hands were at his side.

Kakashi glared at all of them.

"You all fail. None of you were able to grasp the concept-"

"THE CONCEPT WAS TEAMWORK DAMN IT" Naruto suddenly yelled catching everyone's attention. "If you knew then why didn't you act on that information Naruto" Kakashi asked with a dead serious expression on his face.

Naruto sighed and gave a cheeky grin. "Well firstly I wanted for one of them to figure it out and secondly…I was having _way_ too much fun with you Kakashi" Kakashi narrowed his eyes a clear indication that he was angry.

"You all fail." He got up and started to leave but then he noticed that he was missing something. Kunai's no he had those. Forehead protector damaged but still useable.

Then he realized what exactly he was missing. He was missing It.

He spun around and found Naruto holding his precious Icha Icha book in one hand. With a white ball of energy the size of a baseball in the other hand. He noticed a stray leaf fall on the ball and instantly become ash.

"_Give me Icha Icha" _Naruto shook his head. "Only if you pass us Kakashi sensei. Whoops its starting to slip out of my grip" He said letting the book fall closer to the ball.

Kakashi glared at the creature of pure evil tied before him. He could kill him but he might damage his precious Icha Icha. "Fine you all pass" Naruto threw him the book.

"Great so where do we meet tomorrow?" He asked Kakashi realizing his book was out of harms way turned back at him. "I'll pass you if you pass your test. I'm giving you one more chance. Eat rest up and gather your strength. But YOU" He said pointing at Naruto with burning flames in his eyes.

"_He gets no food or you all fail_" Kakashi then disappeared in a puff of smoke.

So Sasuke and Sakura started eating. Then Sasuke turned and saw Naruto tied to the stump with his eyes closed. He sighed and gave him the food. "Here" He muttered. Naruto smiled. He knew that this was just another test but if he told them then it wouldn't hold any meaning.

"Thanks"

Just then Kakashi made a large poof making smoke fly everywhere.

"You all…pass"

Sakura and Sasuke were confused but Naruto couldn't help but grin a confident triumphant grin.

"_So he knew…interesting" _"Well meet me at the bridge tomorrow at seven am. Wwith that he disappeared in a puff of smoke. Sasuke and Sakura untied Naruto. Sasuke started walking away and Sakura called out to him. "Sasuke-kun do you want to-"

"No" He replied still walking away. Sakura looked to the floor crestfallen. Naruto saw the exchange. It didn't take long for him to figure out she had a crush on Sasuke.

He walked over to her and put a hand on her shoulder. "Perhaps…you should treat him like a person not a plaything. He might like you more then. I can also sense that Sasuke appreciates strength. I can help you with the last category."

Then without another word a dark shadow swirled around him and when it dissipated Naruto was nowhere to be seen. Sakura stared at the sight and blinked. She headed home thinking about Naruto's words.

'_Treat him like a human not a plaything.'_ She smiled a little. This Naruto character. He was all right in her book.

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I want to assure everyone this will not be a Naru/Saku. It will be a Naru/OC (Eventually)

Anyway read and review please

Next chap mission to wave.


	7. May I kill the sake drinking old man?

Well I'm back glad you all liked the last chap.

For those of you that are wondering Naruto's blade is like a Katana just a little longer than the normal one.

Also for the people who say that Naruto is over powered he's not. He can barely match Kakashi when he's using the Sharingan and the only way he was able to tie against the Sandaime was because he took him by surprise.

Well let's get on with the story.

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It had been three months since the formation of team seven and the team had not been doing much but D rank missions. Kakashi still hadn't taught them much. They would just meet in the morning receive their mission complete said mission and then they'd go do what ever they wanted.

And Naruto was just about ready to kill someone.

They were standing in the Hokage's office ready to receive their new mission. "Well let's see now for team seven we have baby sitting, walking the Inuzukas dogs and…"

"THIS IS STUPID OLD MAN GIVE US A REAL MISSION!" Naruto yelled glaring at the old man his hand twitching towards the sword at his side. Kakashi edged away from the boy he had officially deemed borderline psychotic.

Sakura and Sasuke didn't say anything but they were definitely agreeing with their blond haired team mate.

'_Hell yeah I want a real mission for once' _Sakura raved in her mind

'_I need tougher missions so I can get stronger' _Sasuke then glanced at Naruto. _'And I might be able to find out just how strong he is'_

Kakashi mean while was thinking more along the lines of_ 'Why, oh WHY? Did I get the team with the antisocial Uchiha the fan girl Haruno and the psychotic blond haired Jinchuriki' _He glanced up at the sky _'Your really enjoying this aren't you?'_

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Meanwhile in heaven Kami smiled and nodded vigorously as he read the mind of a certain masked jounin.

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Iruka had been going on and on about how ninjas are assigned missions by their rank and things of that nature when he was done. He looked up and found Naruto was nowhere to be seen. He blinked several times. He then noticed that Sakura was trying to hold back laughter but was failing miserably and the corners of Sasuke's mouth were twitching a clear indication that he was desperately trying to control his laughter.

Iruka blinked several times clearly confused. But then a mirror dropped right infront of his face he looked at himself and noticed his face was painted like that of a clown. He had kept his eyes closed during his little speech so he didn't notice when Naruto had done it.

He had gotten to know Naruto fairly well in the months after the genin exam since he met him so often at a certain ramen shop. But now Iruka was experiencing the same thoughts that crossed Kakashi's mind during the genin test.

**KILL BLOND**

Naruto was trying to sneak out of the room unnoticed but Iruka caught his movement from the corner of his eye and charged at him.

Then what happened was very similar to what had happened with Kakashi's and Naruto's first meeting. Naruto was running and dodging all the jutsus that Iruka knew which was quite a lot actually.

Sarutobi not wanting to experience three extra hours of paper work immediately called the Anbu special ops units.

Three hours later.

Naruto was trying to discreetly hide behind Kakashi while Iruka continued trying to do hand seals even with his hands tied behind his back.

Sarutobi sighed tiredly. "Very well Naruto I will grant you and your team a C rank mission." He then tossed them a scroll. "I will send for the client" Just then and old man with a Sake bottle in one hand entered the room looking positively drunk. "I'm the great bridge builder Tazuna…eh? These are just a bunch of kids. Can they even fight? The stupid looking blond one with the gold eyes looks like he'll get killed at the first sign of trouble"

Naruto fingered a kunai. "Kakashi sensei" He said in an overly sweet voice. Kakashi tore his eyes away from his book and eyed the blond. "Yes Naruto?" Naruto smiled a bright foxy grin. "May I please kill the sake drinking old man?" He said still using the overly sweet voice. "No you may not. He is the client we have to protect him."

Naruto pouted a little but then he smiled even wider. "Then may I kill him once the mission is over?" Kakashi knew Naruto was just trying to scare the old man so he continued his game. "It depends you'll have to ask the Hokage."

Everyone in the room sweat dropped at the exchange while others. (Sasuke and Sakura) Slowly backed away from the lunatic they call a teammate.

Tazuna was making a mental note not to piss off the blond haired brat in the future. Sarutobi's eye twitched "No Naruto you may not kill the client. Now I have given you your mission get started."

Kakashi turned to the others "All right we will meet at the gate in thirty minutes go home get your equipment and meet at the east gate get moving" and with that he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

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Naruto and his team were walking towards wave in a calm silence. Everything was calm quiet and peaceful.

And Naruto was going crazy. He needed a fight like the kind he used to have with Gaara or Haku…HELL HE WOULD TAKE ON ZABUZA RIGHT NOW IF HE WAS HERE!

It was during his mental rant that he noticed a puddle in the road. But it hadn't rained for weeks. He grinned evilly. Kakashi noticed his expression from the corner of his eye. _'This boy is very interesting indeed. I wonder who trained him beforehand.'_

He was then forced to use Kawarimi as a chain wrapped around him and tore him to shreds. "One down" One of the nin's said charging at Naruto. Naruto was about to unsheathe his sword but he then heard the clattering of metal and realized what he was going to do.

Sasuke threw a shuriken that pined the chain against the tree. He then threw a kunai that securely locked it in place. He jumped on their arms and kicked both of them in the face. The two mist nins dislodged the chain. And charged One weant for Naruto and the other went for Tazuna. Sakura seeing the movement jumped infront of Tazuna. Sasuke saw her and jumped infront of her.

He braced himself for the attack but then the man just suddenly vanished. Sasuke looked around and noticed that his attacker was pinned against a tree by a sword that was stabed into his clawed forearm. Sasuke, Sakura and Tazuna turned and found Naruto holding the other attacker by his throat with his sword missing from his waist.

Kakashi then popped in clapping his hands. "Not bad I'm impressed with all of you." He grabbed the Ninja that Naruto was holding and then moved to grab the sword that was holding the other into the tree. Naruto saw the movement and yelled out to him. "NO STOP KAKASHI!" But it was too late Kakashi had grabbed onto the blade.

It glowed brightly and then a black and white dragon emerged from the hilt and bit Kakashi's wrist. Kakashi jerked his hand back as quickly as he could. But the damage was already done. Kakashi dropped his prisoner and clutched his wrist tightly. He was gasping for breath and his face turned pale.

Naruto ran over to him and laid him on the ground. "DAMN IT!" He yelled he grabbed his sword and started chanting. Sasuke and Sakura also moved to their senseis side looking scared and confused. Tasuna was definitely wondering what the hell had happened to the strongest member of the group.

Naruto continued chanting in demonic toung. His sword glowed pure white making Tazuna and the others cover their eyes. "Move." He commanded. Sakura and Sasuke still confused moved back. Naruto took the sword and then before anyone could even blink stabbed Kakashi directly over his heart.

Sasuke was just about ready to attack him. but then Naruto pulled out the sword and Kakashi started coughing. The color returned to his face and he sat up gasping for breath. Kakashi looked at Naruto "What the hell happened?" Naruto sheathed his sword.

"My sword has an automatic defense no one but me can touch this sword lest they get poisoned with the most potent venom in either the human or demon world." He then helped Kakashi get back to his feet.

Naruto then turned to Tazuna. "This has evolved into much more than just a simple C class mission. You had better start explaining unless you want us to leave your sorry ass here." Tazuna gulped and started to explain the entire situation of wave country.

Meanwhile everyone had their own thoughts about the blond. Sakura was thinking that he was really strong. Sasuke was pissed that the blond appeared to be stronger than him and Kakashi was definitely making a mental note not to touch that sword again.

Kakashi turned to all of them after the explanation was done and asked them if they still wanted to continue with the mission. Naruto merely snorted and said that was one of the dumbest questions he'd ever heard. Sasuke silently nodded and Sakura hesitated for a short moment but after a reassuring glance from Naruto she decided to take the mission.

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Short I know but I still have to think of how I'm going to do the next scene with Zabuza and Haku. Please don't kill me.


	8. Reunion and a fight

Well here's the new chap hope you enjoy it

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Zabuza, Haku and some other eight stone missing nins that Gatou had hired were all sitting in the tree branches waiting for their prey to arrive. Zabuza turned to the others. "All right listen up I'll move in first and attack. If anything goes wrong then you guys can come and assist. Understand?"

The leader of the stone nins snorted. "Why the hell should we listen to you? We could just ambush them all and be done with it" Another stone nin nodded in agreement. Zabuza turned at them with an impatient stare. "And risk getting ambushed ourselves by other ninjas that might be hiding in the woods? You both have a death wish. You will wait here and that's final."

The leader growled at him. "I wont be ordered around demon of the hidden mist." He went to move for a kunai, but Haku saw the movement from the corner of his eye and was next to him in an instant. The nin didn't even have time to blink as Haku took one of his daggers and stabbed him in the same arm that was moving for the kunai.

He was even more surprised when his whole arm went numb and ice started to form around his arm beginning from where he was stabbed and stopping at his shoulder.

Haku then removed the blades, eyeing the man's now frozen arm. "If you ever attempt to harm Zabuza again I will kill you without a second thought" He spoke the words with such coldness that the mans frozen arm was like a hot summers day in comparison.

Zabuza nodded in thanks to his adopted son and then he vanished.

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"GET DOWN!" Kakashi yelled and almost instantly the others were on the ground barely avoiding the large sword that flew over head.

'_Wait a minute I recognize that sword'_ Naruto thought just as the sword imbedded itself in a nearby tree. Just then a man appeared on the handle and Naruto couldn't suppress the small smile that came to his face.

"Kakashi the copy ninja and his team of little genins. Hand over the old man and I'll let you leave." Zabuza stated fully prepared for a fight. Kakashi was about to reply but he was beaten to the punch by Naruto. "Now, now Zabuza-sensei that isn't very nice."

Zabuza's blood went cold, his breath caught in his throat and his eyes went wide. He turned his head to the owner of the voice. "YOU!" He yelled at the grinning b lond idiot before him. The next thing anyone knew Zabuza was standing infront of Naruto with his hand on Kubikiri's hilt.

"NARUTO RUN" The others screamed at the same time. But they were all completely caught off guard when Naruto was placed in a one armed headlock by the guy with the big sword that was named Zabuza.

Zabuza ruffled his hair while still holding him in a headlock. "You little brat so this is where the hell have you been these last few months eh? Who'd a thought that you'd end up on the copy ninjas genin team." He paused suddenly and grabbed Naruto by his collar and pulled him up. "What the hell are you still doing as a Genin anyway? You little shit didn't I teach you anything?" He yelled shaking him like he always used to do every time he was pissed or Naruto had done something wrong.

The others blinked in confusion. Even Kakashi was baffled at the sight.

"Naruto is that really you?" The voice made Zabuza stop shaking his former student and look up at Haku who was crouched on a tree. Naruto waved at him a bit dizzy from the shaking. "Hey Haku." Haku jumped down from his perch and smiled at him. "Naruto how have you been? It felt like ages ever since we've seen you."

Naruto was about to answer but a sudden 'Ahem' brought their attention to Kakashi and the others who were standing with a look that said 'We very confused now please explain actions that have occurred in the last five minutes before we become more confused'

Naruto smiled at them, still being held by the older man. "Kakashi sensei meet Zabuza and Haku. Some old friends of mine." Kakashi nodded. "So you know the Demon of the hidden mist Naruto that is…unexpected." Just then the eight stone nins jumped out of their tree and landed near the group.

Kakashi was immediately on guard. "Are these friends of yours as well Naruto?" Naruto shrugged "Not mine." Zabuza released him and turned to the other stone nins. "Change of plans these people are under my protection. None of you are to harm them got it?" He glared at all of them. Many of the stone nins flinched and were about to back down when their leader spoke up. "Why the hell should we listen to you Zabuza its eight against six. And three of them are gennins so it's really three against eight we have the advantage here."

Haku laughed a little. "Not really, I froze your arm and it will remain that way for a week. You are no threat." The stone nin narrowed his eyes. He then turned and walked away. "Deal with them." He said before disappearing.

Haku, Naruto, Zabuza and Kakashi all took fighting stances. Kakashi then turned to Tazuna. "Tazuna-san please leave for now. Sakura, Sasuke go with him and protect him." Both Genins nodded and left. Sasuke however was pissed when he realized that Kakashi had allowed Naruto to stay behind. Was he thinking that Naruto was stronger than him?

Kakashi started barking out orders. "All right listen up. Three of them are jounins the other four are chuunins. Zabuza and I will take on the jounin Haku Naruto deal with the other four.

Haku and Naruto nodded. They all leaped away to their fight. The three jounins went after Kakashi and Zabuza while two chuunis went after Naruto and another two went after Haku.

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Kakashi and Zabuza were staring at their three opponents. Zabuza turned his head to Kakashi ever so slightly "Hey copy ninja do you know how to use the silent killing techniques?"

Kakashi moved his head a little towards him. "I was never able to copy such techniques due to the fact that it uses mist I was never able to see it done. I was only able to learn the basic concepts of the techniques like how to hide your footsteps while moving swiftly."

Zabuza nodded. "Fine hide in the bushes and let me deal with them. If they manage to stop the technique then come out and assist me." Kakashi nodded and Zabuza immediately made hand seals.

**Kiri Gakure no Jutsu (Hiding Mist Technique).** The whole area was instantly covered with a thick mist. The stone jounins all stood back to back in hopes of finding the mist missing nin before he killed them. Just then a Zabuza's chilling voice broke through the eerie silence. He started leaking out killer intent while naming all of the human body's vital organs.

The jounis did not back down however they were trained for things like this. "My, my aren't we the bunch of brave fools?" Zabuza chuckled darkly "Let's see how brave you are when your missing your head!" This time the voice came from right behind them instead of all around them. They visibly paled, all three of them suddenly turned and found Zabuza in the center of their formation.

They jumped back and threw kunais. Each one hit, but Zabuza soon turned into a puddle of water.

The nin's all took out more kunais but then Zabuza and two clones popped out behind them with their swords raised and ready for the killing blow. "YOU LOSE!" He exclaimed before swinging his sword down on all of them.

Blood splattered the forest floor.

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Haku was staring at both of his opponents. He then did a few hand seals. **Hyoton: Ha Moko (Ice Release: Piercing Tiger)** The entire area's temperature suddenly dropped to almost freezing temperatures. And a Tiger almost twice their size formed right out of thin air. It was crystalline like. The massive beast roared once and charged. The two chuunis jumped out of the way and the tiger leapt at one of them.

The ninja was going to use a jutsu but thetiger suddenly exploded and sent hundreds of extremely small and extremely sharp shards of ice flying in his direction. The nin tried to cover himself but he wasn't quick enough. The shards cut his face and one managed to cut his eye making it useless. The man cried out in pain and landed on the ground with a thud. The other chunnin saw him and growled angrily before charging at Haku.

While running he did many hand seals and cried out. **Doton: Doryudan (Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet)** A large earth dragon formed infront of him and charged straight for Haku. Haku held up his hand and a mirror of ice came between him and the dragon. It shattered into a million pieces. Haku then moved his hand in a circular pattern the shards of ice gathered and formed into a ball in his hand.

He closed his hand tightly and blew through it. A cold blast of wind came from his mouth and the ground turned icy. The nin continued charging. "Please I do not wish to harm you walk away please" He didn't listen and still kept charging. Haku sighed and lifted up his hand. The grass that had been frozen came out of the ground and became as sharp as blades. Haku made another hand gesture and the frozen blades of grass moved like bullets stabbing the man through his whole body killing him instantly.

Haku sighed and then turned to the other nin but found that he was not there.

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Naruto was staring at his two opponents with a wide grin spreading on his face. "I don't think I'll even have to use my sword for this you guys are weak" The nins growled in anger how dare this little gennin dare to insult them. They both charged when they were but three feet away they stopped at the sight of flames gathering on the young nins feet and swirling around wildly. Naruto grinned his evil fox grin.

He held up his hand, pointing his index and middle finger together. The flames at his feet gathered at the tip of his two fingers and made a long string of fire that resembled a whip. Naruto smirked. "All right today is the day you die!" He exclaimed cracking the whip against their feet making the grass catch fire.

(I know I've made Naruto a little blood thirsty and a little crazy to get into any fight but he's a half demon now so those are one of the side effects.)

Both ninjas were a little unnerved by the display but they soon recovered their composure and charged at him once again. Naruto swung his whip and caught one by his leg. The man cried out in pain as he could feel the whip burning him. Naruto ran to the side in a blur. He pulled making the nin trip, He jumped into the air and swung his whip directly down on his next opponent.

The man barely had enough time to react and roll out of the way as Naruto's flame whip crashed onto the earth sending mud and dirt everywhere and the stones beneath the earth becoming molten rock. Naruto landed next to him and kicked him in the face. He stumbled back a few steps but the he saw Naruto's whip coming at him again.

He did more hand seals. **Doton: Doryuheki (Earth Release: Earth Style Wall)** The wall barely came up in time and it broke completely when Naruto's whip came in contact with it. The nin went flying due to the blast and fell in a heap. Naruto then grabbed the nin that was trying to sneak up on him by his neck. The man looked absoluely terrified as Naruto smirked. He then did a few hand seals and touched the man's forehead **Magen: Narakumi no Jutsu (Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique)** He whispered and the nin fell over whimpering in the fetal position on the floor.

Naruto smirked and turned to the last nin that was struggling to get to his feet. Naruto swung his whip at him again only to have the chunnin dodge and have the grass light on fire again. The nin charged at Naruto at full speed. He came in close and drew a kunai attempting to stab Naruto and end his life. Naruto caught his wrist with a firm grip and snapped it like a twig. The man cried out in pain. But it was soon halted as Naruto used his flame whip and pushed some of his demon chakra into it adding even more heat to the deadly weapon. He then swung the whip making it literally burn through the flesh and remove the man's head from his shoulders.

Naruto turned to the nin but found that he was no longer there.

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Zabuza had his clones swing at the exact same time as he did. He was able to kill the youngest less experienced jounin but the other two had used Kawarimi at the last minute and escaped. Zabuza growled frustrated at the enemy nins. He then dissipated the mist revealing the two stone nins. "ALL RIGHT COPY CAT GET YOUR ASS OUT HERE!" He yelled and Kakashi was instantly by his side.

"So which one do you want to take" Zabuza said handling his sword with a glint in his eye. Kakashi eyed him for a moment before shrugging "I'll take the one on the left" He said moving into a fighting stance. Zabuza turned to face him with a smirk that was covered by bandages. "I bet I'll kill mine faster than what you'll kill yours"

Kakashi turned to face him narrowing his eyes. "Your on!" They both charged extremely quickly catching both stone nins off guard. Zabuza jumped into the air attempting to cleave the man in half with his sword the ninja jumped out of the way Kakashi was throwing Kunai like a mad man while his opponent weaved and dodged.

The stone nin threw one of his own shurikens that hit Kakashi right in the shoulder. The stone nin smirked but it soon disappeared just as Kakashi disappeared in a puff of smoke. Kakashi appeared right next to him and kicked him on the side of the head sending him flying toward the other nin that was trying to dodge Zabuza's big ass sword. They crashed into each other and landed in a tangled heap.

They got up and backed away from the approaching figures of Zabuza and Kakashi. "We have to retreat the others are losing and we're no match for Kakashi and Zabuza we have to leave now!" The other nin nodded in agreement. "Fine those kids are about to beat the chunnins. You go for the kid that was with Zabuza I'll go for the other one. Just save the chuunins we have to get out of here in one piece got it?" They nodded and just as Zabuza cut them in half they both disappeared in a puff of smoke.

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Sakura Sasuke and Tazuna had watched the battle with awe written all over their faces. When they saw that the ninjas were gone they all stepped out of the tree line. Haku and Naruto had dragged the corpses of their victims to the center of the clearing as did Zabuza with his kill. They piled the three bodies up and Naruto used his flames and burnt them to ash. Haku knelt and offered a small prayer for the three dead ninjas. Zabuza snorted I don't know why you do that Haku they were enemies that had to be killed." Haku nodded briefly.

"I understand that Zabuza-sensei however." He oppened his eyes watching the embers rise from the flames. "Weather they are an enemy or not they were still human beings who had a life and perhaps a family. They deserve at least one prayer for them to reach the afterlife." Zabuza shook his head silently before turning back to Naruto. 'We'll brat you've deprived me of my latest pay check." He said with mock anger in his voice. Naruto just smiled. "I don't suppose you want to give up that ambition to free the mist from its darkness and come to Konoha with us eh Zabuza?" Zabuza smiled at him. "Sorry brat it aint gonna happen."

Naruto sighed "If you'r ever ready for your second attempt you know where to find me. Me and Gaara will be there in a heartbeat." Zabuza smiled and ruffled the blonds hair. "Sure thing brat I'll see you around. Say your goodbyes Haku." Zabuza turned and started to walk off Haku walked over to Naruto and shook his head. "We'll I suppose this is goodbye again eh brother?" He asked with a sad smile on his face.

Naruto nodded sadly. "Yeah I guess it is. Take care of that boozehound over there make sure he doesn't get killed." Haku nodded and walked off.

Naruto turned to the rest of his team with a cheerful smile on his face. "Well Tazuna where's your house?" It took Tazuna several moments before he realized that Naruto was talking to him. "Oh..its this way follow me" He started leading the team away.

"So Naruto care to explain how exactly you know the demon of the hidden mist?" Kakashi asked eyeing the boy walking next to him. Sasuke and Sakura were listening to this as well. "I'll tell you once we reach Tazuna's house. Kakashi nodded and they continued the walk in silence.

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I'm kinda not satisfied with this chap but don't worry this was one of the few chaps I hadn't really planed out on how I was going to do it exactly but I've planned on most of the others even the chuunin exam finals. Oh yeah vote for the pairings

Sasu/Saku

Haku/Saku

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Gaa/Hina

Gaa/Ten


	9. Training in wave and a revelation

Well I'm back and the voting goes.

Haku/Saku 12

Sasu/Saku 3

Gaa/Hina 7

Gaa/Ten 7

Also some people have suggested I pair up Temari with Haku if more people want this idea then tell me and I'll set it up for votes. DO NOT however vote more than once. I check all the names every time. I tell you this because a few people voted twice in different chapters.

For all the people who still have not voted you have until the end of Tsunade's retrieval mission to decide Haku/Saku, Sasu/Saku and you have until the second test of the chuunin exam for Gaara's pairings. Oh and also two or three people want me to pair Temari with Naruto. I'm sorry to say it wont happen i have a plan for Naruto's pairing and believe me whenItell you that it will become quite interesting in the later chapters.

Oh and also if it turns out to be a Saku/Haku then how many people would want to see a Sasu/Kin pairing? Answer please

(Isn't this fic full ofstrange pairings?)

Anyway lets get on with the story.

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Naruto and his team had arrived in Tazuna's house and were greeted by Tsunami Tazuna's granddaughter. She had started to make food for them while Naruto told them of how he came to meet Zabuza and Haku.

He had of course left out certain details involving his parents and where they had stayed. He had also refrained from telling his teammates about the Kyuubi. He didn't really care what they thought about him if they were too stupid to see beyond the Kyuubi then they were not worthy of his friendship.

That and it would be a real pain in the ass to become a chuunin without a team.

At the end of his tale Kakashi knew he had left some of the details of his story out but he shrugged it off as things he would tell them eventually. "So you met the Demon of the hidden mist when you left Konoha and he decided to train you while hiding out from his pursuers?" Sasuke asked still skeptical of the blond.

Naruto nodded. "That's pretty much it." Sasuke narrowed his eyes still not buying his story but before he could inquire and prod further Tsunami came with food. They all started digging in.

The meal was done in relative silence. The only sound was Naruto who was practically inhaling the food.

After the meal was over they all went to sleep after Kakashi had told them they were going to train the next day.

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The next day Kakashi stood in the forest clearing with his three students. He smiled making his eyes turn into a upside down U. "Well, I think that if we're going to survive this mission then all of you are going to have to get stronger."

"So what kind of training are we going to do today?" Sakura asked looking around. Kakashi smiled even more. "Simple we're going to climb trees." Sasuke and Sakura gave him confused glances but Naruto was looking rather bored.

"How will climbing trees make us stronger?" Sasuke asked starting to think their sensei was a complete lunatic. Kakashi was still wearing that stupid grin on his face. "Let me show you." He then walked up to a tree and started walking up it. Sasuke and Sakura were openly gaping at him while Naruto had somehow managed to grab Kakashi's Icha Icha book and started reading it.

Kakashi reached the top and started explaining about chakra control and why it was important to learn it. Sasuke and Sakura were listening while Naruto continued to read still wondering exactly why Kakashi was so obsessed with this book. Sure it was pretty good but he would prefer the real thing.

Kakashi threw the Kunais at their feet. "All right start climbing." He said dropping down from his perch. He noticed that Sakura and Sasuke took the kunais and started climbing. But he soon noticed that Naruto had his back turned to him and was looking down at something.

Kakashi was about to take out his book and ask the blond what the hell was the matter. But then he noticed to his complete and total horror his precious Icha Icha was gone. He turned and looked at Naruto.

Naruto soon felt the cold edge of a kunai on his throat. Kakashi leaned in and whispered in his ear and then in a very deranged and psychopathic voice he said. "_Naruto if you value your life you will give me back the precious…_" Naruto slowly closed the book and gave it back to Kakashi.

Kakashi giggled a perverted giggle as he took back Icha Icha and released Naruto. "_Yes my precious your back in my hands now and no one will try to hurt you anymore…_" Kakashi then blinked and stood up straight staring at the blond that was slowly attempting to get away from the deranged Icha Icha lover.

"Naruto am I correct in assuming that you have taken this kind of training with Zabuza before?" Naruto merely nodded dumbly trying to figure out how the man could be so obsessed with Icha Icha to the point that he momentarily turns into a deranged lunatic with a creepy ass voice if its taken away from him.

Kakashi sighed. "Well I don't really know what you need improvement in Naruto from what I can tell you're almost as strong as I am going all out in taijutsu, I'm definitely better than you in genjutsu from what you told us and your ninjutsu might just exceed my own."

Naruto smiled "So to put it simply your stumped." He said Kakashi nodded a bit sheepishly. "Yeah your right. I would have to see a few more of your fights so I could get a better grasp of what I can actually teach you." Naruto nodded. "Fine I'm going to go do some of my own training for a while see ya later." With that shadows enveloped him and he vanished.

Sasuke landed on the ground and saw that Naruto was nowhere in sight. "What happened with Naruto why isn't he here?" Kakashi tore his eye away from his precious book and answered. "He's already done this exercise so he went somewhere else to train himself." He started reading again.

Sasuke growled in anger if Naruto was able to do this and he wasn't then how did he hope to defeat his brother. He then looked at Sakura and noticed that she was already up the tree. He growled again. Why did he have to be so weak?

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A few hours later

Sakura was on the ground panting she had been going up the tree for over three hours now and she would take short breaks in between. She glanced at Sasuke he was still trying to get to the top he had only managed to reach 1/3 of the way up so far.

She couldn't help but wonder what Naruto was doing. The guy could already do this exercise no problem so he must be doing something that was even tougher. Her curiosity already peaked. She got up and started walking away trying to find her blond haired teammate.

She found him in a clearing about fifty or sixty yards away from where she was at before. He was in a fighting stance with his sword held firmly in both hands. She decided to see what he could do.

After a few moments of waiting Naruto started practicing his Kata and Sakura was left absolutely speechless. The fighting stile seemed like a dance and Naruto was flowing like a river. None of his attacks were done with more force than necessary but none of them seemed like they wouldn't tear the flesh of another opponent.

Sakurawas in awe.

Naruto finished his kata and relaxed. Letting out a sigh he caught Sakura's scent and smiled. He let the shadows surround him and vanished. Sakura was a little upset that he had disappeared but then Naruto's voice came from directly behind her. "You know? Its not nice to eavesdrop on others."

Sakura let out a startled 'Eeep' of surprise. She turned and found Naruto with a foxy grin on his face. He leaned against a tree "Is there something you wanted?" He asked with his cheerful face still on.

Sakura looked at her feet and Naruto sensed her aura flare with doubt and insecurity. "You need not fear the question nor the answer. You need only fear what keeps you from asking the question" Sakura looked up shocked could he read minds as well? She looked uncertain for a brief moment before looking into his eyes with determination.

"Can you help me to become stronger?" Naruto's face became serious and he held up three fingers. "Three conditions. "You will be absolutely dedicated to your training when it's time to train. Second you don't complain and third you always work hard for things and never try to take the easy way out." He lowered all the fingers. "These are my conditions to train you. You fail once then I don't help you with your training again. Do you accept?"

Sakura thought for a moment before looking back at him. "Yes I am sure. I don't want to be a hindrance to any of you anymore. After that first fight that I saw the stone nins attack I realized that I was definitely much to weak to be a gennin. So can you please help me?"

Naruto kept his face serious for a few seconds and then broke out into a full blown grin. "All right lets get down to business."

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Three days later many people including Tazuna had noticed slight changes in Sakura. She definitely had a slight increase in muscle mass and Kakashi could tell that she had increased her chakra capacity by nearly double what it used to be. Everyone else could tell that there was something different about her but couldn't place it on what it could have been exactly.

Naruto knew that it was just a increase in self confidence that the girl had in her aura that was not there before.

Kakashi had followed Sakura after the first day and found Naruto training her in taijutsu since it was probably the easiest thing to start with. He couldn't help but smile when he saw Sakura trying to hit Naruto but failing miserably.

Sasuke was definitely wondering what the hell had happened to Sakura. He decided that he was going to find out and nothing was going to stop him from doing so.

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Sasuke was training in his normal morning work out and then he noticed Sakura say good morning to him and he nodded in reply. Sakura sat down and said nothing but then after a few moments she got up and started walking deeper into the forest.

Sasuke waited until she was far enough not to see him. He then took to the treetops.

Moments later he had lost Sakura but quickly found her training with none other than Naruto. They were doing a sparing match where no jutsu's were allowed.

Sakura tried to hit Naruto with a round house kick to the side of his head. Naruto merely brought up his forearm and blocked the hit, he then pushed her off of him with minimal effort. He had one hand behind his back and was only using one hand to block all the hits.

"Stay focused, aim for a certain point focus all your strength into that point and hit." Sakura panted a little and got back up. She charged for Naruto again. Naruto continued blocking her attacks while still instructing her on her focus stance and other things. Sasuke watched the entire spar with interest. Who was Uzumaki Naruto? Was the question that continued to plague his thoughts.

Naruto caught Sasuke's scent and had to hold back a sigh. _'His arrogance and pride are going to be his down fall one day' _He then felt Sasuke walk away. He continued his training session without missing a beat.

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Kakashi who was standing upwind therefore avoiding Naruto's nose couldn't help but sigh. _'Oh brother. Why the hell wont he just ask for help if he needs it?'_

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That night the group of ninja were sitting at the table eating dinner with Naruto grinning and telling a few jokes. Everyone was enjoying themselves discussing minor things about the day and things of that nature.

"How was your training today?" Tsunami asked as she continued to eat the food. Her son Inari was watching Naruto, scowling.

"Good," Sakura said pumping an arm. "I'm feeling a lot stronger, and Sasuke is incredible as always." She blushed as she looked at her Crush who didn't do more than reach for the food.

"What about you, Naruto?" Tazuna asked. "Think you can take on those stone nins again?"

"Oh yea, and I won't go so easy on them next time," Naruto grinned at the thought.

"Why do you bother?" Inari spoke up. "No matter how hard you try you're no match for Gatou's men." Something broke in him and he started to cry. Inari stood up and pounded his hand against the table. "No matter what you say or do they'll always be stronger than you! If you fight them again you'll just die!"

"I'm not like you kid," Naruto said dismissively.

"I DON'T WANT TO BE LIKE YOU," The outburst startled the majority of the people in the room, but Inari didn't care as he continued to yell at Naruto. "You don't know anything about us! YOU DON"T KNOW HOW HARD LIFE CAN BE!"

The entire room temperature seemed to drop several degrees after Inari's outburst. Naruto looked up from the table directly at the boy. No one spoke, all eyes were focused on Naruto. Kakashi was already pushing chakra to his feet just incase he had to hold Naruto back. Sasuke was even intimidated by his teammate. Sakura watched, shaking, as Naruto's eyes slowly started to change. The yellow eyes that reminded her of the sun on a clear day now only reflected a coldness that was bitterer than any winter she had experienced.

"Don't you Dare speak to me about how hard life can be," Naruto's voice was soft, but everyone heard him, and felt the steel in his tone. "I was alone for six years. NO family, no friends, only ME. And even to this day I am still separated b from my father and mother." They could only watch in fascinated horror as Naruto's eyes changed again, but this time it was nothing like a moment ago. The iris slowly started to shift until his eyes were a blood red, and the look was no longer cold, but one of burning fury. "I was not only alone, but HATED by just about every person I ever met." The fury was evident in his voice, but he held it in check if just barely.

"NEVER given a chance to prove myself. NEVER shown anything but hate and Contempt. And you DARE to speak to ME about having a hard life!" Inari was rooted to the spot. If he could have, he would have run. "Spend all your life being blamed for something that you had nothing to do with and could have done nothing about. THEN we can talk about living a hard life."

"Naruto," Kakashi finally found his voice. "That's enough." Naruto glared at Kakashi for a moment before standing and leaving the room.

Naruto glanced back at Inari before stalking out of the room. Sakura started to get up and go after him but Tazuna stopped her. He shook his head and Sakura slowly sat back down. Tsunami was comforting a still shaking Inari. She didn't know how to feel. Naruto's outburst had shaken even her. She didn't know whether to feel more sorry for Naruto, who had lived such a hard life, or Inari who had taken the full force of the red-eyed fury.

"Is it true?" Tsunami asked, looking directly at Kakashi.

The Jounin sighed and looked down. "Every word." No one felt like eating any more. The revelation seemed to put Naruto in a whole new light. "He has spent his life all alone." He wondered idly why Naruto had said he was still sperated from his mother and father. Had the boy found someone who he could call parents?

Sakura could not believe that Naruto had all that anger bottled up inside of him. Kakashi had told them that Naruto had a hard life once before but she never believed that it was to that extent.

Sasuke wondered what Naruto had been talking about, what could the people have blamed him for, but he found he was no longer angry or upset. If anything he felt empathy for Naruto for both their lives were far from easy.

"He's stronger than I ever gave him credit for," Tazuna said after a few minutes. The others could only nod in agreement.

They picked up the dishes and washed them deciding to leave Naruto alone for the time being.

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Next chap battle on the bridge and some of Naruto's light techniques are revealed.


	10. Batle above the bridge

Well here's the new chap hope you enjoy it.

As some of you may have realized I am now managing two fics. This one and another one called a twist of fate. I want everyone to know that it will not affect my update rates to much just incase your worried.

Well lets get on with the story.

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It had been two days since Naruto's argument with Inari and no one had seen or heard anything from him. Sakura had gone to where they usually trained but all she found was a scroll with a jutsu he left there for her to practice.

Kakashi was starting to get slightly worried for two reasons. The first was because Naruto was his student and was nowhere to be found and the second was because he knew that the rest of the stone nins would be attacking soon and he would need Naruto's help. Taking on the two jounins that he and Zabuza fought on his own would be easy enough but the leaders arm would be healing soon and taking on three jounins was pushing it even for him.

He wasn't too worried about the chuunins. Sasuke was strong enough to take on one possibly both of them and with the training Sakura had been getting from Naruto he was sure she could hold her own against one of the chuunin.

He sighed and once again took out his book and began reading.

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Naruto had been working with his anger by beating on some trees in the forest and killing whatever animal was stupid enough to get in his way.

He had finally managed to calm down enough that he decided to head back to Tazuna's house. It was more of reliving the reality of his life rather than the comment that pissed him off.

He kept on running to Tazuna's house while deep in thought. It was only when he was about twenty feet away dd he hear a struggle coming from the other side of the house.

"LEAVE MY MOM ALONE!" That was Inari's voice. He didn't have to listen to anything else it appeared as if Gatou was making his move. He immediately started running to where he heard the voices.

He found Inari running towards two Samurai ninja and one of them started drawing his sword. He was about to bring his sword down and kill Inari when Naruto appeared infront of him and blocked the man's sword with his own.

He punched him in his stomach and kicked the other in his face with a high kick. He then made a chakra rope and tied both of them up. He released Tsunami and asked. "Where are my teammates?"

Tsunami moved and hugged Inari. "They went with my father to the bridge." Naruto nodded. He cast one glance at Inari his eyes cold and void of emotion. He then turned and started walking toward the bridge.

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Kakashi and his team arrived with Tazuna at the bridge. They were all shocked to find the beaten bodies of the workers on the ground all over the place. They moved to check on the bodies but then they heard chuckling on the other side of the bridge.

They turned and found the stone nin leader standing there with his two jounins and two chuunins.

"Hahahahaha, Hatake Kakashi we meet again and this time no demon of the hidden mist to help you." He looked around before smiling. "And I don't see the blond kid either, my, my isn't this my lucky day."

Kakashi narrowed his eyes a clear indication that he was pissed. _'Damn it Naruto you sure picked a fine time to have a temper tantrum.' _"Sasuke, Sakura protect Tazuna at all cost." He then uncovered his Sharingan eye.

"Ah the famous Sharingan I was hoping to see it's power for myself." The leader turned to his men. "All right you two…" He pointed to the jounins. "Take on the copy cat. and you two…" He pointed to the chuunins. "Take down the old man" They all nodded and charged.

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Kakashi looked around and made some hand seals. **"Kiri Gakure no jutsu (Hidden mist technique." **The area was once again enveloped in a thick mist. The two jounins stopped for a moment wondering where the copy ninja would attack from but then they heard.

**Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu (Water Release: Great Water Vortex Technique)**Both jounins jumped back just as a massive swirling pillar of water came crashing down. When they looked back they saw a large crater where they had been standing. They didn't have time to contemplate it as they heard two voices cry out.

Suiton: Suikodan no Jutsu (Water Release: Water Shark Bullet Technique), Suiton: Suiryudan no Jutsu (Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique). Both ninjas jumped to opposite sides of the bridge as a water daragon and a shark made out of water came charging at them. 

They both ran for several seconds before both attacks died down. Then one of the jounins heard Kakashi's voice.**Kuchiyose: Doton: Tsuiga no Jutsu (Summoning: Earth Release: Tracking Fang Technique)**The jounin was confused but then he heard a low rumbling coming from the earth. Then before he could comprehend what was happening a large Number of nin dogs came from the earth and latched onto him with their jaws/

Kakashi then appeared infront of him with a kunai ready to deliver the final blow. But before he could do it he received a kick to the face that sent him flying back several yards. Kakashi flipped and looked back to see the leader was standing there with a smug expression on his face.

"What's the mater copy cat? why hasn't your all seeing Sharingan eye been able to beat us yet?" Kakashi snarled as his nin dogs disappeared and the other jounin that was previously lost in the mist come up behind the leader.

Kakashi stood and took a fighting stance.

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Sakura and Sasuke had split up and were each taking on a single chuunin.

Sasuke charged at his chuunin and jumped in the air attempting to come down with a kick. The ninja blocked and grabbed Sasuke's leg. He then threw Sasuke towards the edge of the bridge. Sasuke flipped in mid air, landed on his feet and started doing hand seals.** Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu (Fire Release: Grand Fireball Technique) **The ninja charged and side stepped the attack.

Sasuke took out a windmil shuriken and threw it at him. The nin caught the first but didn't expect the second shuriken hiding in the shadow of the first. It stabbed itself into his left shoulder. He cried out in pain and Sasuke took the opportunity and kicked the blade in deeper. Sasuke jumped back and threw more shuriken at the ninja.

The man jumpped away while trying to pull the blade out. Sasuke didn't want to give him that opportunity so he kept on trying to hit him with taijutsu. The nin having more experience than him was able to block or doge all of his attacks and eventually was able to remove the shuriken from his shoulder. However the struggle opened the wound more making the nins arm near useless.

Sasuke jumped into the air tying several kunai's with wire and landed where the enemy nins back was to a construction tower.**_Sōfūshasan no Tachi (Manipulating Windmill Triple Blades)_**He thought throwing the kunais and shurikens and then tightening them pinning the ninja to the construction tower. The man tried to struggle free but Sasuke tightened the ropes even more and started making hand seals.

**Katon: Ryūka no Jutsu (Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique)**He yelled taking a deep breath and releasing it all in one shot making a large stream of fire. It headed straight for the ninja engulfing him in flames and burning him to a crisp.

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Sakura was clashing with the other chuunin with mainly a kunai and shuriken exchange. She was suddenly very grateful for the training Naruto had given her. She ducked under a kick the ninja tried to hit her with and gave him an uppercut. The man recoiled from the hit and tried to back hand Sakura in her face but the girl leaned back barely avoiding the attack. She then grabbed his wrist and twisted it.

The nin moved to counter by kicking her in her stomach. The hit connected and Sakura was replaced by a log. He was mildly surprised but then to his horror he felt a sharp pain in his back. He turned his head and saw three shurikens imbeded in his middle back. He growled from both the pain and anger at the female ninja.

He turned and found Sakura making hand seals.**Sakura Fubuki no Jutsu (Cherry Blossom Blizzard Technique)**She said barely above a whisper. Then the man was surrounded by thousands of sakura blossoms swirling in the wind directly infront of him next to him and all around him. He couldn't see anything other than pink Sakura blossoms.

Sakura meanwhile was on the sidelines preparing some kunai with some explosive tags. The jutsu she had put him under was a B rank genjutsu unless the person had at the very least high chuunin level chakra control it was very difficult to get out of. It fooled the sense of sight because of the large number of Sakura blossoms, it confused hearing because the genjutsu also added the effects of houling winds and it confused the sense of smell with the scent of Sakura blossoms.

She finished with her kunais and threw them so that they would land all around the opponent. The kunais stabbed themselves into the ground. The nin saw the kunais just before they made a small explosion sending even smaller but numerous exploding tags fly everywhere. It landed on the flor the mans legs, arms, chest, back and face.

The stone nin started panicking trying to get the small exploding tags off. But they exploded after just a few seconds. Despite the fact they were small they were powerful and the man fell over either dead or unconscious. Sakura landed on the ground crouching with a small frown on her face. She was proud of herself for winning but she was horrified at the fact that she may have killed a man.

She turned to Sasuke and noticed that he had already finished off his opponent and was now staring at her with surprised on his fetures. She smiled a little and then turned trying to see if she could find Kakashi, missing the angry snarl on Sasuke's face. _'Damn it everyone is getting stronger while I still remain weak damn it. How can I possibly hope to beat my brother like this?' _He turned and tried to find Kakashi who was still inside the mist he had created.

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Kakashi was not having the best of days he was fighting three jounins and everytime he had an opportunity to kill one of them another would step in and save his ass it was really starting to piss him off and at the same time tire him down. He stood again ready to attack and then he heard a voice from his right. "Need some help?"

He turned and found Naruto standing on the edge of the bridge looking at the stone nins. Kakashi couldn't help but smile. "You sure took your sweet time getting here Naruto." Naruto smirked "I thought it would be funny to see you get your ass kicked a little Kakashi."

Kakashi twitched a little honestly wondering if he was telling the truth or just joking. He decided he was joking. But just for reassurance "If I ever find out you took your sweet time just to see me get hit a little bit you wont live long enough to regret it" Naruto laughed a little but then his eyes settled on the leader who was looking a little peeved. "Kakashi sensei you take on the two Jounins I'll take on the leader." Kakashi nodded. "Fine don't get yourself killed." Naruto nodded and charged at the leader while Kakashi took on the other jounins.

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Naruto stared at the stone jounin with a sinister smile on his lips. "Well I guess it's time I take your head eh?" He unsheathed his sword and took a fighting stance. The leader smirked. "You can try brat." He then took out two kunais and took his own fighting stance. Naruto charged at him and tried to stab him. The nin jumped into the air and twisted his body so he could stab Naruto but just when his kunai was about to hit Naruto dashed away and came back around and connected a hit to the mans face.

The stone nin was in a complete daze the only thought that registered in his mind was. _'How the hell can anyone move that fast'_ He flipped in mid air and landed on his feet he saw Naruto was charging at him again. He started doing hand seals **Kawara Shuriken (Tile Shuriken)** The stone tiles on the floor of the bridge floated in the air and after a few seconds started spinning and moved at Naruto at high speeds. Naruto stopped in his charge and did hand seals.

**Doton: Doryuheki (Earth Release: Earth Style Wall)** A large earth wall came between him and the incoming tiles. When the tiles hit they were able to break through half way to the other side before coming to a stop. He dispelled the earth wall. His eyes widened when he saw a large mud dragon coming right at him. Just before it hit he jumped on its head and ran along its body headyng right for the stone nin.

When he reached the end of the dragon he jumped straight into the air. **Doton: Doryudan (Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet)** He yelled and almost instantly a large earth dragon of his own came from right beneath him. He took out a small bottle that was hidden beneath his coat and broke it over the dragon. He did even more hand seals.

**Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu (Fire Release: Grand Fireball Technique)** He yelled blowing the fireball on the dragon making it catch fire. The bottle that he broke was filled with oil. The stone nin was surprised to say the least. He was so surprised he was barely able to get out of the way when the dragon came crashing down on him. He stood up on wobbly legs. He then looked at Naruto who was standing with an unreadable expression on his face.

The man looked at him for several moments before bursting out laughing. "Not bad boy, not bad at all." He laughed softly staring at Naruto who's expression had not changed during his little outburst. "You've forced me to use my bloodline limit. You're the first to be able to do so in over six years you should feel honored." Naruto stared at him and the man made a hand seal with his eyes closed and his face with a look of concentration. Moments later his eyes opened and earth started to gather around him. It swirled around him and then large boulders came and connected with his body until you could see nothing but his eyes.

The nin let out a laughter from within his stone armor it sounded hollow and cold. "Boy prepare for your funeral." Naruto's eyes narrowed. He made some more hand seals. **Katon: Karyudan (Fire Release: Fire Dragon Missile)** He yelled releasing a large stream of fire to the nin. It hit dead on but the man just laughed and stepped out of the flames. Naruto wasn't all that surprised but what the nin did next really did surprise him.

His whole body became small segments and the boulders that once made up his body started moving at him trying to hit him. He was trying to doge but the boulders were moving at very high speeds. He finally lost his concentration and one of the rocks hit him on the side right over his rib cage. He winced in pain hoping that none of the ribs were broken.

He went to jump out of the way but then another boulder came and slammed into his back and then another hit him in his stomach. The boulders continued pelting him for about a minute before they let him fall on the ground. He got back up coughing up blood while Kyuubi worked on healing his internal injuries. He looked and found the nin once again as a complete body instead of many segments.

He stood up straight and glared at him. The nin laughed some more. "I'm impressed boy you managed to stand up most wouldn't be able to breath right let alone stand and keep fighting." Naruto said noting he merely took the sword he was holding and held it directly infront of his face. He closed his eyes and concentrated. His sword started to crack. The stone nin was confused but he decided to watch what Naruto was planning on doing. After all nothing could break his armor of stone. Right?

The sword cracked more and more, and white energy started leaking out of the cracks. His hair turned silvery white and a kanji of light appeared on the front of the batle armore he wore underneath his white coat. The nin felt his chakra spike dangerously high and decided he had better finish this now. He made his arms become segments and sent them hurdling towards Naruto.

When they were about twenty feet away Naruto opened his eyes revealing eyes that were completely white with white mist coming out of them. The metal around his sword shattered completely leaving a sword made entirely out of white light. Naruto saw the boulders coming at him and lifted his left hand directly infront of him. A white circular field of energy came between him and the stones. When he felt the boulders back away from the field he dropped it. He looked at the stone nin and started doing more hand seals.

When he was done spears made of light started coming up from the ground trying to stab the nin. He thought at first that nothing would be able to harm him with the stone to protect him but he was soon proven wrong as one of the spears came and pierced his arm. He screamed out in pain at the unexpected development. He segmented his body and managed to get away from the spears of light.

When he got back to normal he looked around and noticed that Naruto was nowhere to be seen. A shadow came over him and he looked up to see Naruto floating in the air with several spheres of light floating near him. Naruto looked at him with and pointed his sword directly at him. The balls glowed and then hundreds of beams of light shot out moving to the stone nin. He put his hands up infront of him in an attempt to block the beams of light. But not only did they manage to heat the rock to a near melting point they also exploded on contact.

When the dust cloud cleared the Stone nins stone armor was almost destroyed and he was panting on one knee. Naruto landed on the ground not looking the least bit worn out. The stone nin growled and once again summoned stones to form his armor. Naruto started walking towards him calmly. The nin growled. "I wont let a little piece of shit like you beat me brat."

He formed his body into segments and sent them to Naruto again. Naruto formed a barrier around himself and the stones bounced off like pebbles. The ninja formed himself back together and Naruto dropped the barrier. Naruto charged at the nin with all the speed he could muster. The nin started throwing rocks at him but Naruto kept on side stepping and jumping dogdging all of them. He flashed infront of the nin and said. "Rest in peace" and with that he stabbed the man right in the only opening the armor had. Between the eyes.

The nin's armor cracked and fell uselessly to the ground. The stone nin slumped to the ground dead. Naruto turned and found that the mist that Kakashi had created was starting to dissipate. When it cleared he saw Sakura, Sasuke and Kakashi standing over the corpses of the two chuunins and two jounins. He immediately turned back to his normal form and sheathed his sword.

They turned to him and found him standing over the corpse of the stone leader. He smiled and waved at them but just then the sound of clapping was heard. They all turned and found Gatou standing on the bridge with a small army of bandits standing behind him. "Well you beat them good now your all tired out and I don't have to pay them anything."

Naruto growled he unsheathed his sword again and was going to attack but then an arrow landed next to his foot. He turned and found Inari holding a crossbow with the vilagers gathered behind him each holding their own weapon. The bandits seeing that they had lost the advantage of numbersall turned and fled. Gatou was about to folow them but Naruto flashed infront of him. "I'm sorry but I cannot let you live." He swung his sword and Gatou slumped over dead. Everyone cheered completely un aware that Naruto's swipe didn't cut Gatou. The ninjas all headed back to Tazunas house ready to complete their mission in the morning.

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Well that was just a glimpse of the light techniques but those techniques mainly focus on defensive and healing. You will get a glimpse of darkness when Naruto faces Orochimaru in the chuunin exam where I'll be able to go crazy.


	11. You are a fool

Well I'm back glad you all liked the last chapter I made.

Now since no one has any questions lets get on with the story.

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Naruto and his team were walking back to Konoha having just left wave country and the newly built great Naruto bridge.

After a tearful goodbye from Inari and a promise to come back and visit, he was hugged by Tsunami who had practically showered him with thanks. The villagers had treated them like walking gods.

After they had left the village Kakashi and Sasuke were _"discretely" _attempting to find out how he beat the stone nin. Sakura however was not so discrete. "Hey Naruto what did you do to beat that jounin back at the bridge?"

Naruto turned and smiled at her. "Well it's quite simple Sakura." He paused and the others were all listening intently. Kakashi had even stopped reading his book. "I…stabed him between the eyes."

The others fell down anime stile. They got back up and glared at Naruto. "WE REALISED THAT WHEN WE SAW THE STAB WOUND" Sakura yelled at him. Naruto turned at her with a cheeky grin. "But you asked what I did to kill him and that was what I did"

He continued walking with three very pissed off teammates behind him. Sakura muttered something under her breath that sounded distinctly like smartass blond and Kakashi kept reading his book while Sasuke…was being Sasuke.

'_I know that this idiot is a lot stronger than what he lets on. It's the only way he could have defeated a jounin, just what is he hiding from us? _Sasuke thought glaring at the back of the blond haired teammate.

Sakura was wondering how much more she could learn from Naruto and Kakashi…………was still reading that damn book. Naruto silently swore to himself that when he met the bastard who wrote those damn books said bastard was going to be in a world of hurt.

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Elsewhere a certain white haired Sannin sneezed loudly alerting the women inside the bathhouse of his presence.

The results were not pretty.

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Naruto and his team arrived at the gates of Konoha. Kakashi had told them to go home and get some rest while he delivered the report to the Hokage. He then disappeared in a puff of smoke and the others all went their separate ways.

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Kakashi arrived at the Hokage tower and stepped into the Sandaime's office. Saruto saw Kakashi walk in and smiled.

"Ah, Kakashi I trust your mission went well?" Kakashi nodded. "Yes Hokage-sama our mission was a success. However it turned out to be a A class mission not a C class." Sarutobi's face went serious. "Kakashi tell me everything that happened on the mission." Kakashi nodded, sat down on a chair and began telling the story.

At the end Sarutobi was leaning back in his chair smoking his pipe. "I will send word to stone that their missing nins have been killed. But even though your mission was a success I sense that something else is troubling you."

Kakashi looked up meeting the Hokage's gaze with his own. "Hokage-sama when we were fighting on the bridge Naruto and I were separated I took on two of the stone jounin while he took on their leader. I wasn't able to see his fight but I felt it…I didn't say anything to him nor did I question him but I felt a strange almost calming power come from him. I was hoping you could tell me about it since Naruto seems to confide in you more than anyone else."

Sarutobi sighed and leaned back into his chair. "Yes I know of it, don't worry it's nothing that will endanger the seal placed on him. I remember when his mother did the same thing in one of the battles of the stone leaf war almost sixteen years ago."

"You know who Naruto's mother was Hokage-sama?" Kakashi asked surprised. Sarutobi nodded. "Yes I did, Naruto knows as well I suppose you can call that power his bloodline limit."

Kakashi was once again surprised. "Naruto has a bloodline limit? Wow! But wait a minute since you know his mother do you know who his father is too?" Sandaime nodded. "Yes I know who he was but I'm not revealing their identities to you or anyone else. Naruto most likely knows who they are and that's all that really matters." Sarutobi started working through his paperwork again.

"Now I have plenty of paperwork to finish and I have to get started." Kakashi could see that the conversation wasn't going to go anywhere so he reluctantly nodded and walked out.

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Sasuke had come to a decision. It had taken almost three hours of thinking it over, of toying his idea. But he had finally decided. He was going to ask Naruto to help him in training. He didn't know why the hell this stupid idea had come to mind but it did.

Oh who the hell was he kidding. SAKURA! A girl that was barely able to fight was able to beat a chuunin level ninja on her own in less than a week after training with Naruto. Hell if it could be compared then he would be able to beat Kakashi after only a few days.

But there was only problem with the decision that he made

HE COULDN'T FIND THE DAMN BLOND HE WAS LOOKING FOR!

Hence the source of Sasuke's frustration, he had first intended to go to the blonds house but then to his dismay he realized he had no idea where the hell said blond lived. So he decided to walk around and see if he could find him. He had gone to the training ground the market and well almost through the whole village.

Just when he was about to give up and go home he heard the loud laughing coming from a nearby ramen shop. And of course said ramen stand was only three blocks from his house. He walked over and entered the shop where he found Naruto talking to his old academy teacher Iruka.

Naruto was laughing his ass off while Iruka was blushing like a tomato. "Are you serious Iruka" Naruto chuckled and watched as Iruka turned even redder. "Naruto laughed so hard he fell off his stool and was rolling on the ground. Sasuke was indeed wondering what the hell would make Iruka blush and have Naruto rolling on the floor laughing his ass off at the same time.

Naruto composed himself and sat up. "So let me get this straight. You Umino Iruka got hogtied and dragged to the apartment of a female jounin known as Mitarishi Anko and then she proceeded to……."

"ENOUGH NARUTO! YES WHAT I TOLD YOU IS ALL TRUE!" Naruto was trying to control his laughter but was failing miserably. "And is what you say that she did to you in said apartment true?" Iruka merely nodded dumbly. Naruto at that point couldn't hold in his laughter and started laughing all over again.

His laughter died down as Iruka calmly took his stool and beat him with it to the point that the poor wooden stool was no longer useable.

Naruto finally noticed the other dark haired Ninja standing at the entrance of the ramen stand who was staring at him with a small raised eyebrow. Naruto stood and smiled his normal foxy grin. "What's up Sasuke?" Sasuke would be damned if more than one person was going to hear the words come out of his mouth. "Naruto follow me." Naruto had an idea as to what Sasuke wanted so he wordlessly followed his dark haired team mate.

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After a few minutes of walking Sasuke and Naruto arrived at team sevens training grounds.

Sasuke turned to Naruto. "Naruto I…" He swalloed his ego and his pride in one gulp. "Want your help in training." There he'd said it his pride be damned.

Naruto's face was expressionless and his eyes were cold. "Sasuke why should I train you?" His voice was cold and distant. Sasuke was about to answer him but Naruto cut him off. "Why should I train you…when you will only use that strength for your own selfish gains and ambitions?"

Sasuke immediately grew angry. How dare he say his goal was selfish? He had to avenge his mother and father and the rest of his clan. Who was he to question him about it?

Naruto sensing the rise in anger in Sasuke decided to continue his little speech. "Sasuke with the way you are now I can safely say that you are nothing but a fool. I am an avenger." He snorted and crossed his arms over his chest. "You are not an avenger you are a mere plaything for your brother's amusement"

Sasuke couldn't hold his anger in anymore and charged at Naruto with a kunai in hand with his Sharingan eyes blazing. _'Sharingan? When did he activate that?' _Naruto sidestepped his attack as Sasuke tried to stab him with the kunai.

Naruto kicked him in his stomach and then threw him across the training ground. Sasuke moved to stand up but he only managed to get up to his knees. Naruto calmly walked over and knelt beside him. "Your brother Uchiha Itachi, with your anger you will never defeat him. He is stronger than you in almost every respect. But you have one advantage over him. Do you know what that is?"

Sasuke who was still trying to get the air back in his lungs and stand on his own two feet didn't answer. "Then I will tell you. The advantage that you have is simple. You have people that care for you Sasuke. You have people that consider you a friend and a shinobi, people who would stick by you and help you. What does your brother have? Nothing absolutely nothing. Physical strength true but with friends and loved ones that you want to protect you can achieve true strength.

I will leave you here to think about what I said. If you are willing to set your goal of killing your brother in the not the most important thing to do in my life category and out of the most important thing to do in my life then you can come to me for training. I'm not asking for you to give up but I am asking you to put it on hold for the time being."

With that Naruto vanished into the darkness of the night. Leaving a Uchiha to think about what the blond said.

Unknown to them a certain masked ninja was watching them. "I don't know who is the real sensei of this team him or me." With that he disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

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It had been three days since Naruto's encounter and Sakura was starting to get worried Sasuke would always be lost in thought and Naruto always seemed to be watching him. like he was evaluating something. He never told her what the hell was wrong and he never let it interfere with his missions or the training he helped her with.

As a mater of fact that was what he was doing right now. She didn't know why the hell she had to learn how to meditate but Naruto had deemed it nessesary.

"Naruto what is the purpose of this training?" Naruto replied without even opening his eyes. "Simple it helps you maintain your focus and increases chakra control capacity." Sakura shrugged and started meditating.

After a few more minutes Naruto opened his eyes. "Ahh, we have a guest." He said standing up and fixing the sword at his side. Sakura was confused but she stood up as well. She turned and found Sasuke walking out of the forest with a rare lok of determination.

She was about to walk up to him but Naruto stood infront of her. Naruto eyed Sasuke for several minutes before saying. "Are you willing to do as I asked Sasuke Uchiha?"

After a few seconds Sasuke nodded. "I am willing" Naruto tried to sense in either his aura or his scent if he was lying but after several seconds of sensing no lie he smiled brightly. "I was hoping you'd come around." And with that he walked back into the clearing and started meditating. Sasuke followed his example as did Sakura. Even though she was still confused about what the hell happened between the two.

Kakashi watched them with a smile on his face. "Naruto you might just become the next Hokage with the way your going." And with that he disappeared in a swirl of leaves

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Well that's the end of this chap. For the next chap the team meets Gaara and his siblings.

READ AND REVIEW


	12. Brothers teams meet and money to be made

Well I'm back hope you like the new chap.

No one had too many questions sooooo

Let's get on with the story.

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Naruto and the rest of team seven were waiting for Kakashi sensei on the bridge. Sasuke was sitting on the bridge railing while Sakura was sitting under a nearby tree and Naruto was standing with his arms crossed infront of him staring into the forest. He didn't know why but he felt like something was going to happen today.

He didn't have time to ponder these thoughts as Kakashi suddenly appeared in a puff of smoke. "Hi guy's sorry I'm late but an old lady had her cat stuck in a tree and I just had to help her." Naruto twitched in annoyance. "That would probably excuse you if you were 10 minutes late but NOT. THREE. FUCKING. **HOURS. LATE**. YOU CICLOPTIC BASTARD!"

The other two members of the team didn't say anything but Sakura was barely within an inch of releasing Iner Sakura's wrath on the one eyed pervert of a sensei and if Sasuke could unlock new forms of the Sharingan by anger alone then he would have surpassed Itachi's own Sharingan ten times over.

Needless to say team seven was pissed.

What did the famous copy cat do to diffuse the situation? Simple he took out his orange book and began the well practiced task of pointedly ignoring them. Naruto was about to take out his sword and slice that damnable book to shreds and to hell with the consequences.

Just before he drew his sword however Kakashi took out three papers from…somewhere. Naruto and the other three took the papers and started reading them over. Kakashi cleared his throat and started to explain while still keeping his eyes on that stupid book of his. 'These are the application form for the chuunin exam. If you want to take the exam you only have to sign your name on the paper. I advise you to think about this long and hard before you make a decision. The exam will be filled with strong gennin like yourselves."

'_Although I think Naruto could take on about half of them on his own if he went all out.' _Kakashi mused silently. Naruto was thinking more along the thoughts of. _'Why in the seven hells does that old man do this to me he knows damn well that with just my demon powers I'm high chuunin level. And with my other light and darkness powers I'm practically at Kakashi's level. So I only have one question. WHY THE HELL AM I TAKING THE DAMN CHUUNIN EXAM ANYWAY?'_

Sasuke and Sakura wanted to take the exam but were waiting to see if Naruto would take it. Sakura had been training with Naruto for about a month and a half and Sasuke had been training with Naruto for about two weeks. Both had grown to respect the blond and valued his opinion. If Naruto didn't think that they weren't ready they would stand by his judgment.

Kakashi noticed his team's reactions. He didn't know weather to frown or smile. He liked Naruto and he liked the fact that he was able to get Sasuke out of his path of darkness and to get Sakura to take her role as a kunoichi seriously but he wanted for his team members to think individually because the day Naruto wasn't around anymore they may not know how to make sound decisions. And not only that Naruto might one day make a wrong decision that could have possibly been avoided if one of his teammates would advise him on a course of action.

So unable to decide he simply decided to keep his face neutral.

Naruto read the form over and signed it. Sasuke and Sakura soon signed theirs and handed them to Kakashi. Kakashi took them and eyed each of his students. "Now that you've signed the forms you are qualified to take the exam. However if you feel you're not ready then you don't have to show up. Think it over all of you."

Naruto nodded lazily but then something entered his senses. It was familiar…very familiar. He expanded his sense of smell. His face turned from mild curiosity to a huge grin that threatened to split his face apart.

His teammates noticing this turned to him with curious looks on their faces. Even Kakashi was interested with what the hell was going on with his student. Sakura stepped forward and waved her hand infront of his face. "Naruto….hhhheeeelllloooooo……anybody home?" She asked looking straight into his eyes even though he wasn't looking at her.

Naruto suddenly jumped over her and the rest of them and started running through the rooftops as fast as possible. The rest of the team who was still confused all started running after him.

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Gaara and his siblings were all walking around the village trying to find a hotel. Gaara's dark brown cloak was billowing in the soft wind with a hood covering his ears and tail from view of the public. The only people who had ever seen him without it were Temari and Kankuro since they were the only ones who he felt he could trust with the knowledge that he was the new Shukaku.

Temari had been shocked at first but after a couple of minutes she really didn't care that much. Kankuro had been slightly nervous around him for over a month but after that he went back to his normal self.

With them he let his expressionless mask slip slightly but around other people a teacup probably had more expressions than what he had. Temari had asked him once or twice about where he had gone but he hadn't said anything other than he owed his new life to his sworn brother Naruto.

Temari and Kankuro both wanted to meet this Naruto guy and thank him but seeing that they didn't know the first thing about him other than his name they soon gave up the search.

Gaara stopped in his tracks making his other two siblings stop. A ghost of a smile appeared on his face. He turned his head slightly. "You two might want to step back." The two sand siblings were confused but they decided it would be best if they listened and took a few steps back.

Naruto jumped from a rooftop that was directly to Gaara's right. He made some hand seals and yelled **"Katon: Karyuu Endan" **all the while wearing a huge smile on his face sending a huge stream of fire that engulfed Gaara and nearly burnt his teammates.

Naruto landed crouched while still holding a grin on his face. Suddenly the fire died down revealing gaara still hidden beneath his cloak with sand swirling around his feet and his arms crossed.

Naruto grinned even more and took out his sword. Gaara seeing this made a swirl of sand appear next to him. When it cleared Gaara's spear stood embedded in the ground. Gaara grabbed it and took a fighting stance.

Just then team seven arrived on the scene and found Naruto with his sword at the ready and some other guy with a cloak holding some weird spear. Sasuke and Sakura were about to jump down but Kakashi catching Naruto's grin held them back.

Naruto charged at Gaara and swung his sword in a downward strike. Gaara brought his spear up and blocked it. He then pushed Naruto off of him and trust his free hand forward. Sand came out of his sleeve and headed straight for Naruto.

Naruto in response moved his hand in the same way and flames shot out towards Gaara. Both attacks collided and Gaara's sand became glass. Naruto stopped his attack and charged at Gaara. Gaara barely caught the movement. He would have had his head chopped off if it wasn't for his automatic defense.

Naruto scowled as the sand came and blocked his attack. Gaara turned and thrusted his spear forward. Naruto back stepped with his right foot moving his body out of the way of Gaara's spear. He then moved to grab the spear but it turned into sand just where he was going to grab it making his hand go straight through.

Gaara shifted his position and tried to swing his spear at Naruto again. Naruto moved to block but once again where his sword would have connected Gaara's weapon became sand and Naruto's sword passed right through it.

Gaara then held his spear to Naruto's throat. Team seven was shocked that Naruto had lost while Gaara's siblings were looking on with smug expressions. Gaara smirked. "Looks like I win Naruto." This time it was Naruto's turn to smirk. "No you didn't Gaara look at where your standing."

Gaara looked down and to his surprise the ground where he was standing on was littered with explosive tags. Naruto's smirk grew into a full blown grin at his brothers shock. "And with my ability to control flames the explosion wont even harm me. Oh and by the way…" Naruto the slit hid throat against the spear and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Then Naruto's voice came from behind his own team. "I wouldn't let you beat me so easily just because you've begun to master your weapons powers." Gaara laughed out loud at that causing both his siblings jaws to drop to the floor.

Gaara looked back at Naruto with a smile on his face. "It's been far to long things were quiet without you brother." Naruto smiled his usual fox grin. "Ha just wait till you see Haku the guy's become an expert with Ice. Almost as good as you are with your sand."

Gaara raised an eyebrow at him. "You've seen Haku?" Naruto nooded vigorously at his question. "Yup and the boozehound too. Come on I know this great ramen shop where we can catch up on old times." Gaara nooded and in a swirl of sand was next to Naruto. He then turned back to his siblings. "You two keep looking for a hotel I'll join you later."

Naruto then turned to his teammates. "Well I'll see you guy's later." And with that they started walking away leaving five people with the very same thought on their mind. _'Fuck that I want to find out how those two know each other.' _The sand siblings looked at Naruto's team. Naruto's team looked back at the sand siblings. They all nodded at the same time making a silent agreement that they were going to find some answers.

So with that the team from Suna and team seven from Konoha started following the two brothers.

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Naruto and Gaara were sitting in Ichiraku ramen bar while they caught up with eachother.

And the Ichiraku chef couldn't be happier. It turned out that Gaara was a ramen addict as much or more than Naruto was. Oh yes money was coming and it was coming fast.

Meanwhile Sasuke, Sakura, Kakashi, Temari and Kankuro were standing right outside the ramen bar trying to listen in to the conversation currently taking place inside if the bar.

Gaar slurped what remained in his fifteenth bowl of ramen and set the plate aside. "So you met Zabuza and Haku about a month and a half ago?" Naruto nodded with a small smile on his face. Gaara leaned back on his seat. "All right so what have you been up to Uzumaki?"

Naruto was eating his ramen while answering. "Well I've been training with my teammates. But what's your deal? I became a genin because the old man wanted me to make friends my own age but you're a gennin because…"

Gaara sighed "If I ever hear you say this to anyone else I'll kill you without a second thought, got it? I…wanted to help my brother and sister." Naruto smiled even wider. "Aww, does little Gaara-kun have a soft spot for-" He was unable to finish his sentence as wrapped around his whole body leaving only the upper part of his face uncovered.

Gaara's left eye twitched "You don't want to finish that sentence Uzumaki" He said mustering his most chilling voice. But Naruto just smiled a grin that was still visible even with the sand around the lower part of his face.

Gaara snarled a little and let his sand fall uselessly to the floor and vanish from view. Naruto continued eating his ramen without missing a beat.

Meanwhile the others were and were finally able to hear in on the conversation that the two were having inside the bar using one of Kankuro's puppets.

Gaara soon grew deadly serious. "Naruto I have something to tell you." Naruto noticing Gaara's serious face and his serious voice put his ramen aside and started paying attention. "What is it?" Naruto asked his elbows on the table and his hands laced infront of his face. Gaara merely sighed "It's about sand they have a pla-"

"GAARA WAIT YOU CANT TELL HIM!" Temari yelled barging into the bar. Kankuro and the rest of team seven soon followed. Gaara turned and regarded her with a look of absolute determination in his Shukaku like eyes. "Temari this is the person I owe my life to I will tell him of sands intention wether you like it or not. I don't care if sand decides to label me as a traitor. The only responsibility I have in that place is to you Kankuro and my territory of the desert. And the Kazekage would be a fool to send shinobi after me in the middle of the desert."

Temari looked to the floor defeated and stepped back. Gaara once again turned to Naruto. "Brother sand is planning to attack Konoha along with the hidden sound village I was present when my father signed the treaty the messenger sent him." Naruto nodded with a serious face. "I see this…complicates things." He then turned to Kakashi. "We should report this immediately." Kakashi nodded.

"I agree Naruto I will leave affairs with your… 'brother' with you. I will report this if there is anything else tell me." He was about to turn and walk out but Naruto called out to him. "Wait a minute Kakashi. Gaara do you know who the Otokage is?" Gaara shook his head. "Sorry Naruto I don't even think my father knows who that is."

Naruto nodded. "I see. Well I have a plan that might just keep you from being labeled a traitor Gaara. When the attack begins, my team and I will attack you we will fight and after a few minutes you guy's throw the fight to us that way we don't exhaust ourselves and you aren't banned from your homes."

Gaara thought for a moment before nodding "Fine I agree but I'll only alow this under one condition I fight you all out no holding back. I really want to see who's improved the most in these past few months. No killing of course just the first to fall unconscious and if I beat you then I'll throw the fight to one of your teammates."

Naruto smiled. "PERFECT IT'S BEEN A LONG TIME SINCE I HAD A DECENT FIGHT I'LL TAKE YOU ON AND BEAT YOU INTO THE GROUND GAARA!" He yelled standing up. Gaara smiled and stood up as well. "I wont let some dumb blond idiot beat me." He replied calmly.

Temari and Kankuro were openly gaping at this point. They could tell Gaara was exited and he never got exited over anything.

Kakashi eyed them before sighing "They truly seem like brothers with the way their acting now." He then took out his book and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Sakura and Sasuke walked over to Kankuro and Temari. Sakura walked up to Temari and offered her hand. "Hello I'm Haruno Sakura nice to meet you." Temari smirked and extended her hand. "I'm Temari of the desert Gaara's sister." They both walked off and started talking about…stuff while Sasuke and Kankuro were just staring at each other neither one wanting to be the first to break the silence.

They stayed there staring.

And staring.

And staring.

**Twenty minutes later.**

Still staring.

**Twenty one minutes later**

"I'm Kankuro of the desert/ Uchiha Sasuke" They both stayed staring at each other still not wanting to relent.

Meanwhile a small group of people had gathered watching both of them stare at each other. After a few minutes Naruto and Gaara started taking bets as to which one would crack first.

**Three long hours thousands of dollars in betting money and people bringing seats and umbrellas and a national news crew later.**

"It's nice to meet you"

Two loud cries of. "YES!I'M FREAKIN RICH" and "NOOOO I LOST MY MONEY" Were heard throughout the whole village of Konoha.

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Well that's the end of this chap. Naruto's confrontation with Orochimaru will be in the next chap or the one after that.

Please read and review ALL OF YOU!


	13. The chuunin exam

Well I'm back here's the new chap.

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Naruto was making his way through the streets of Konoha towards the area the Chuunin exam was going to be held. He couldn't help a strange foreboding feeling. He could also sense a three powerful chakra signatures.

One he could easily recognize anywhere it was his brother Gaara's chakra. But the other two. One he couldn't place at all but the other he felt as if he had sensed it somewhere before.

After trying to figure out where he had sensed the chakra for several more seconds he shrugged. _'Feh I'll figure it out when I get there I suppose.' _With that thought he continued his walk to the chuunin exams.

A few minutes later Naruto arrived and found Sasuke and Sakura waiting for him. Sakura saw him first and waved at him. "Hey Naruto." She greeted. Naruto returned the greeting with a smile and a wave. Sasuke spoke up next. "Why are you late?" Naruto shrugged. "Didn't feel like getting up early."

Sasuke and Sakura both twitched in annoyance but at least he was honest unlike their sensei Kakashi. Without another word they all started walking in.

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They made their way up the stairs and found a kid in green spandex getting bullied around by two other ninjas. After watching there exchange for a few minutes. Sasuke had enough and stepped forward. "That was all well and good but could you get out of my way were going to room 301"

At this several mutterings were heard through the hallway. The guard just grinned so you figured it out did you. At that point the Genjutsu over the door was dispelled and it revealed that it was room 201 not 301.

The other ninja guarding the door moved to kick Sasuke and Sasuke tried to kick him. But before there blows could connect a green blur shot forward and grabbed both of there legs.

Naruto and Sakura caught the movement at the last second. Naruto drew his sword at the last minute and placed it on the green wearing gennins neck while Sakura took out two kunais and threw them cutting a few of the boys hairs as a warning.

The boy and his teammates were shocked at this. They never expected anyone to be able to even come close to matching the speed of the boy with the green spandex. He let go of Sasuke's leg and of the guards leg. Naruto sheathed his sword and Sakura took back her kunais.

Another boy with long black hair and white eyes walked up to them. Naruto immediately recognized him as a Hyuuga. "What are your names?" He asked seriously. Naruto said nothing he merely stared with a semi cold look in his eye. Sasuke seeing that neither his blond haired or pink haired companions had any intentions of answering once again stepped forward.

"In order to know the name of another you should give your name first." And with that he started walking away. Sakura followed him but Naruto stared at neji for several seconds before saying. "Fate does not exist" And with that he vanished in the shadows reappearing behind his teammates leaving a very confused and slightly afraid Hyuuga.

When they entered another room with stairs that led to room 301 the same kid with the green spandex jumped infront of them. He took a fighting stance "In order to know someone's name you must give yours first right? Well then I am Rock Lee taijutsu specialist and I have come to challenge you Uchiha Sasuke."

Naruto eyed Lee for several moments silently calculating how strong the kid was and to put it simply he was pretty impressed. The guy's chakra was barely worthy of an academy students but he could tell just by the few mistakes in his fighting stance the way he moved when he caught Sasuke's kick and by the orange garments that Naruto recognized as weights that the boy could probably give most rookie jounins and even some experienced jounins a good fight.

Sasuke looked towards Naruto. Naruto looked back. "You most likely won't win this fight but it will be a way to learn of your Sharingan eyes weaknesses." Sasuke was wondering what he meant by discovering the Sharingan's weakness but then without another word he took his own fighting stance.

Meanwhile Rock Lee was watching the exchange with interest he just couldn't figure out why Sasuke seemed to be following the blonds orders. Wasn't the Uchiha clan the strongest? He just couldn't understand the only real explanation would be that the blond was stronger than Sasuke.

Sasuke activated his Sharingan and charged at Rock Lee. The fight was short and it was about to end as Lee prepared to wrap Sasuke up in bandages and use his Lotus technique but just before that happened Naruto jumped in and kicked Lee in the back of the head. Sasuke flipped in mid air and landed on a crouch. Naruto landed on his feet and watched as Lee stood up.

"What do you think your doing that technique would have crippled or killed Sasuke had you completed it. If you want some bones to break today then wait for the exam to start." Lee was about to speak but then a large cloud of smoke came from behind him. "He's absolutely right Lee how dare you use those techniques? You know very well that those techniques are forbidden!" The cloud of smoke dissipated revealing………a turtle.

Naruto knew it was a summoned animal what else could it be. He had foxes and from what he cold tell his comatose father and some other guy Jisuma or something like that used toads. Kakashi used dogs but who the hell used Turtles? Sasuke and Sakura just blinked several times clearly confused.

After several minutes of the amphibian chewing out the green spandex wearing kid another cloud of smoke came up. This time it revealed………What the fuck!

Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura were sure that they at this point had fallen into some weird parallel dimension or something. It was the only explanation as to why there were two green spandex wearing clones with freakishly huge eyebrows standing before them.

Naruto and his team barely registered when Gai punched Lee square in the face sending him flying. They did register however when they started HUGGING and CRYING. With the SUN SETTING behind them.

Sasuke was thinking along the lines of. _'I just got beat by a guy who wears green spandex, has freakishly huge eyebrows and hugs his sensei while crying with a sunset that magically appeared behind them. If Itachi saw me now I'd kill myself from the embarrassment._

Sakura was thinking. _'Sasuke lost to these weirdoes. Good God what the hell is the world coming to? AND WHERE THE HELL DID THAT SUNSET COME FROM?"_

Naruto was thinking along the lines of. _'AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH MY MIND IS BROKEN. MUST………FORM………PROPER………HANDSEALS………**MIND ERASE NO JUTSU**! Huh where am I again?_

When all of the gennins regained there senses they practically ran to room 301 leaving the hugging/crying infront of the magical sunset.

When they entered the room they were slightly shocked to find so many gennin. There had to be over a hundred. Naruto was looking over the crowd checking peoples chakra signature and other things that could help him mesure others strengths. He decided that the strongest gennins there were the rookie nine, along with Lee's team, Gaara's team, a team of genin wearing a headband with a musical note on it, and one other genin with silver hair and a leaf headband, that one however was masking his chakra signature.

Before he could continue his thoughts a girlish squeal was heard along with a grunting sound. He turned around and couldn't surpress the smirk that crossed his face as he saw Ino glomping Sasuke and the raven haired boy's eye twitching in annoyance.

"Sakura looked like she was ready to burst a vein even though she hardly ever showed it now adays the crush she had on Sasuke was still there. Naruto figured it was in his best interest to pointedly stay clear of that fight by walking over to talk to Shikamaru and Chouji.

"So you guy's made it to huh? This is so troublesome." Shikamaru deadpanned while Chouji kept munching on chips. Naruto nodded. "So are we the only ones of our year who made it?"

"HA YOU WISH!" An overly loud voice came from his right. Naruto turned and found Kiba, Shino and Hinata walking up to them. Kiba walked over to them. "Looks like all this years rookies managed to get nominated for the chuunin exams eh?"

"You guy's might want to keep it down." All the ninja's turned and faced the newcomer. Naruto immediately recognized it as the guy who was trying to mask his chakra. He said nothing however and let the kid keep talking. He talked about the different types of ninja of different villages. When he said that this was his seventh time Naruto's suspisions were raised. \

'_His seventh time but his chakra output seems to be at least high chuunin, perhaps as high as mine or Kakashi's. Could he be a spy for Suna or Sound?' _Catching a glimpse of Gaara from the corner of his eye he motioned for him to come closer. Gaara caught the gesture and complied.

Naruto waited for Gaara to get close to him before leaning closer and whispering into his ear. "Gaara do you recognize that one from Suna perhaps?" Gaara shook his head. "Sorry brother I don't he might belong to sound village though" Gaara whispered back.

Naruto looked on seriously. "I see looks like I'm going to have to do some digging could you assist me?" Gaara nodded "I'll look into it." And with that he walked back to his teammates.

Kabuto was currently showing Sasuke and the other rookie gennins the nin info cards. "So anyone you want to know about?" He asked with a smirk. Naruto narrowed his eyes. This had to confirm he was some form of a spy. No genin could have access to others personal files and status.

Sasuke stepped forward. "I want information on Rock Lee of the leaf, Sabaku no Gaara of the sand and…" He looked at Naruto and smirked. "Uzumaki Naruto of the leaf." Naruto raised a curious eyebrow. "I thought I told you to stop being so power hungry Sasuke."

Sasuke merely grinned even wider. "True but you never said I couldn't be curious about others." Naruto's brow twitched in annoyance. Kabuto started reading Lee's.

"Rock Lee of the leaf Taijutsu specialist. Ninjutsu and genjutsu is almost non existent. Teammates are Hyuuga Neji and Ten Ten. Missions completed 34 D rank and two C rank all successful. Bloodline limit none,"

"Sabaku no Gaara, Skills in Ninjutsu Taijutsu and Genjutsu are unknown. Oh wow several B rank and A rank missions completed without any injuries. Impressive, Bloodline ability rumored to control sand" The gennins were slightly shocked and each of them were making a mental note to avoid Gaara. Well… all except Naruto who had a full blown grin on his face already imagining the fight he was going to have with his sworn brother in the future.

Kabuto then took out Naruto's card. "Uzumaki Naruto of the leaf. Once again skills in taijutsu ninjutsu and genjutsu unknown. 16 D rank missions completed along with one A rank completed. Bloodline ability heightened senses, and ability to control two unknown elements.

Suspected to have the potential of a High level jounin. The Sandaime Hokage belives that Naruto has the potential to surpass all shinobi's before him including the legendary yellow flash of Konoha. Kenjutsu and Ninjutsu abilities are rumored to surpass the legendary copy ninja Kakashi's own skills. Wow."

All eyes turned to Naruto who for some reason found the ceiling quite interesting.

Kabuto was definitely worried though. _'If this Naruto boy has kenjutsu and ninjutsu that might be able to surpass the legendary copy ninja's then he is a threat. I will have to inform Orochimaru Sama._

Naruto sensing the change in Kabuto's aura turned to him. "May I see the card?" Kabuto nodded and handed him the card. Naruto looked at the card and handed it back. Kabuto was shocked at what he found. The card had flames coming out as letters it read.

'_I know you are not who you claim to be Kabuto I will find out the truth and if I don't like what I find I will take your head.'_ With that the card ignited in black flames. Just then Ibiki entered the room.

Naruto and all of the other genins rushed to there seats without a word.

When the test were handed out Naruto looked at the questions several times over. All the while thinking in his head. _'Is this some kind of sick joke? These questions are imposible the only persone I could see answering this is the strategist and shadow user Nara Shikato. AND EVEN HE WOULD HAVE TROUBLE WITH THESE DAMN QUESTIONS!'_

He kept wondering what the hell the answers were until a large booming voice came from within the depths of his mind. **"YOU HALF BRAINED JACK ASS YOU HAVE TO CHEAT!" **Naruto stopped then after several seconds of realizing the fox was right he silently gathered a relatively small ball of light in his hand. When he was ready and he made sure no one was looking he pushed his chakra so the ball would shoot straight up. When it reached the ceiling it blew up sending a blinding light through the whole room.

Everyone screamed and covered their eyes but the damage was done and all of them were temporarily blinded. Naruto shot forward and looked at everyone's papers while writing down the correct answers. Just as he entered his seat the effects of the flash started wearing off and Ibiki and the other chuunin proctors could see again.

Naruto leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes ready to fall asleep.

Ibiki noticed that the boy had suddenly finished. _'Hmm he must have been the one who created that bright light but since none of us really saw him we cant do much about it. Oh well I still have the tenth question.'_

A few minutes later Ibiki had told them about the tenth question. Naruto knew from the feel of his aura that he was lying and he felt for his teammates auras. Sasuke had very little doubt mixed with a great deal of confidence and determination. Sakura had a little more doubt than Sasuke but she had even more determination so she was not in danger of quitting in his opinion.

But the young Hyuuga next to him was mired in self doubt and lack of confidence which surprised Naruto somewhat. He had always heard that Hyuugas were self righteous overconfident and most of the time arrogant pricks. He saw that she was about to raise her hand.

"Don't" He said softly yet firmly. Hinata looked at him with wide eyes. "Don't give up, you must never give up. I can sense a great deal of power within you yet you do not use it. It is locked away beneath your self doubt and hesitation." He paused and looked at her his slits burning a hole into her very soul. Hinata couldn't help but feel slightly afraid but she also felt something else swell inside of her. Pride and confidence, two things almost alien to Hinata. Why did she feel this way just by talking to the blond haired boy.

"You probably have more potential than any of the Hyuugas. You just have to believe in yourself." Hinata was about to reply but Ibiki's voice cut through the air.

"All right for those of you who stayed here then you passed the tenth question." Ibiki then proceeded to explain the purpose of the tenth question. Just when he finished the explanation a bundle of cloth broke through the window. When it reached the middle of the room it expanded revealing.

"Hi I'm Mytarishi Anko, the second proctor for the Chuunin exam"

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Well I'm done with this chap the next chap Naruto fights Orochimaru.


	14. Light fades into Darkness

**IMPORTANT NOTE READ:**

Well I'm not exactly back so don't get your hopes up. I was able to show up at my mom's office today and I sent the update from her phone.

Well here's the new chapter hope you all enjoy it!

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"Hi I'm Mitarashi Anko the second proctor for the chuunin exam!" A woman wearing a trench coat and a very revealing fish net under shirt exclaimed to the gennins. Ibiki then came out from the side of the cloth with an annoyed expression on his face.

"Bad timing" He deadpanned. Anko looked a little embarrassed.

Meanwhile the same thought ran through the minds of Kyuubi, Sasuke, Sakura and Gaara. _'Another person with Naruto's personality in the same room…may god have mercy and save us from this terrible fate.'_

"All right you little brats meet me outside right now!" Anko yelled at them before disappearing in a puff of smoke. All the remaining gennins wordlessly stood and started making their way outside.

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Naruto and the other gennins walked outside and found Anko standing outside of a large forest. "All right kiddies behind me right now is the place where you will be taking your second test" She paused for dramatic effect. "The forest of death"

All the gennins stiffened. All but Naruto who was lazily picking his ear with his pinky finger, effectively giving off an air of complete boredom.

Anko noticed Naruto's behavior from the corner of her eye and threw a kunai at him.

Naruto's reflexes kicked in and his alertness skyrocketed. He caught the kunai and then in one fluid motion e turned it in his hand and placed it on Anko's throat, who had just appeared behind him with her own kunai cutting his cheek.

Anko was very impressed with the boy. He had not only caught her kunai but he had also predicted where she would attack him from. His combat skills were good so it was time to find out how he stood up to intimidation.

She leaned in ignoring the blade at her throat and licked the blood off of his cheek. "Mmm, your blood is delicious" She said licking her lips.

Meanwhile Kyuubi, Sasuke, Sakura and Gaara once again thought the same thing. _'Good God it can't be she's even worse than Naruto.'_

Naruto merely raised an eyebrow but then another thought occurred to him. A mischievous and all knowing grin appeared on his face. "Don't you think you should save such things for Iruka later on tonight Anko?"

Anko looked surprised, then thoughtful and finally a wide slightly evil smile formed on her face. Naruto watched amused as she stared off into space with that slightly creepy look of hers.

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Meanwhile

A certain Chuunin academy teacher had a cold chill run up his spine.

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Naruto was already imagining what Anko had in store for Iruka. He smiled slightly to himself. But that smile soon turned into a frown when he suddenly felt a large chakra signature directly behind him and caught the scent of snakes.

'_Hey you feel that?'_

"**Aye brat I feel it. Whoever this person is he's pretty strong, far stronger than any gennin. Feh even that whelp Kakashi would probably get his ass owned by whoever this is. I suggest you avoid fighting this one, even with your newfound strength you'd still probably lose."**

Naruto looked rather peeved but eventually nodded. _'Agreed I don't think either one of us would walk away from that fight without paying a price.'_

He was so wrapped up in his thoughts he didn't notice Sasuke and Sakura calling out to him until Sasuke bonked him on the head. "Hey Naruto you spaced out for a minute there. What the hell is wrong with you? Come on we got an earth scroll."

Naruto shook his head and looked around. He noticed that the one giving off the chakra was a female grass nin. He turned back at Sasuke and Sakura with a very serious look on his face. "Listen to me."

Both of his teammates were caught off guard by the sudden tone of voice. It was the voice that clearly indicated that they had better listen or they'd regret it. "If at any time I tell you to run during this exam then you follow my orders got it?" His voice was as hard as steel and as cold as ice. Sasuke and Sakura had never heard him like this before.

Not trusting their voices they merely nodded.

And Naruto once again turned into the smiling blond that everyone knew. "Great! Well let's get started." His two other teammates were definitely beginning to wonder if Naruto had a split personality or something.

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Thirty minutes later.

Naruto was pissed, no scratch that, HE WAS FURIOUS! He had gotten separated from Sasuke and Sakura.

He had sensed the chakra of that grass ninja again and he barely had the time to prepare before the blast of wind sent him flying. The ninja was after Sasuke from what he could tell. Or he wanted to get them all separated and pick them off one by one. He could tell because when he had been hit by the blast of wind because of his enhanced senses he could tell that the wind was stronger where he and Sakura were standing.

Sakura was able to stay in her place because of her perfect chakra control. He however was blown away.

So here he stood trying to find their scents again. _'Ah found em.'_ He was about to move and head for them when the mother of all snakes came out of the tree line.

Naruto's eyes went wide _'Goddamn that's a big snake! What the hell have they been feeding you? Good lord this guy has got to be on steroids.'_

Naruto's inner monologue was cut off as the snake coiled back and striked. Naruto jumped straight up just as the snake crashed into the ground beneath him. He raised his hand and put his index and middle finger together. His flame whip formed at his fingertips ready to strike.

"I don't have time to waste with you." He said coldly before swinging his whip down slicing the snake's head clean in half. He looked to where he sensed his teammates and started running towards them.

When he arrived he found the female grass nin sitting on a branch looking rather pleased with herself. Sasuke and Sakura were on the tree opposite from her each looking like they had just gotten the shit beat out of them.

"Well now let's end this shall we?" The grass nin said with sick amusement in his voice Naruto was about to jump down but then something very unexpected happened. The nin's neck stretched out like a snake. Naruto didn't know who he was planning to attack but it really didn't matter. He threw his sword aiming for the nins neck.

The grass nin barely reacted in time. Stopping his advance and receeding back to his body he watched annoyed as the other leaf pest that he had blown away came back and stopped him from finally securing his future vessel.

Naruto landed infront of his two teammates, facing his next opponent. "Your opponent is me." He glanced back at Sasuke and Sakura. "This ninja isn't who he seems I want the both of you to run and head straight for the tower. I'll hold him off as long as I can."

"Wait what do you mean hold him off you can beat this guy right Naruto?" Sakura asked with worry in her voice. It was the first time that she had ever heard Naruto indicate that he couldn't beat someone outright and she didn't want to leave him to die just so they could get to safety.

Sasuke was having similar thoughts to Sakura but he'd be damned before he expressed his worry.

Naruto spared her a quick glance before replying. "Just go get to the tower as fast as you can don't fall into enemy traps. Tell the Hokage that we've had a breach in the exams." Sakura was about to protest but Naruto cut her off. "Sakura! Don't argue with me and go you too Sasuke."

After a bit of hesitation both of the gennins nodded and started running towards the tower as fast as their legs could carry them.

Naruto stared coldly at the still smug looking nin. "Enough games tell me who you really are." The nin just smirked even wider.

"I suppose there's no harm in telling you since you will die here. My name is Orochimaru." He expected for the boy to give some outward reaction such as fear or surprise but the boy merely cocked his head to the side with a curious expression.

"Orochimaru? S class missing nin one of the legendary Sanin and mentally insane immortality seeking Orochimaru?" Said sannin twitched in annoyance.

'_Okay so maybe I'm a little crazy but where the hell does this kid get off telling me that? I swear this generation has no respect for its elders.'_

Suddenly a little voice in the back of his mind spoke up. _'Well look who the hell's talking your planning to assassinate your old sensei and last I checked he was **way** older than you!'_

'_No one is speaking to you at the moment so why are you interrupting'_

'_Because I am the one and only voice of logic that exists within your twisted mind.'_

'_Leave you are not wanted here'_

'_Hell no I hardly ever come out so now that I'm finally out I'm saying my piece.'_

'_I will now ignore you'_

'_You can try. First off you really, REALLY, **REALLY**, need a tan. Secondly stop hanging around that Kabuto kid so freekin much it's really bad for your image. Thirdly STOP WEARING A FREEKIN ASS BOW GO INTO A DAMN CLOTHING STORE AND BUY SOMETHING THAT ACTUALLY LOOKS GOOD. YOU LOOK LIKE A FUCKIN FAGOT WITH THOSE CLOTHES AND… Hey are you listening?'_

'…………'

'_Ha I knew that would shut him up'_

Having finished his inner argument Orochimaru once again locked eyes with Naruto.

Naruto calmly turned and started walking towards his sword that was stabbed into the branch.

"You know your bounty is at the top of the line in the bingo books here in Konoha. The only one that even comes close to rivaling it is Uchiha Itachi's. But I imagine that the only reason his bounty hasn't gone higher than yours is because no one has seen hide nor hair of him since the Uchiha massacre."

Orochimaru narrowed his eyes ever so slightly. Who was this boy? How did he know so much? He was definitely above gennin level from what he could tell. He was probably at jounin level. _'Hmf, no matter he is not stronger than me I will destroy him and then I will catch up to Sasuke.'_

Naruto took hold of the hilt of his sword and silently pulled it out of the branch. "I will most likely not win this fight unless your having a bad day in the condition I'm in right now so I guess I'll have to kick it up a notch.

Orochimaru was very confused what could the boy possibly have meant.

Naruto closed his eyes and a wide smirk spread across Naruto's face. "It has certainly been a long time since I've done this."

He opened his eyes again but this time they were glowing in a red color with a red mist flowing out of them. His sword turned an ebony black and pulsated a sickening purplish energy. A dark aura consumed him from head to toe. All you could see of him was his glowing red eyes and the dark blade pulsating in his hand.

For the first time in a long time one could see absolute terror in Orochimaru's eyes.

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Sasuke and Sakura were running through the forest when the chakra reached them. They both looked back to where they had left Naruto. "Sasuke we can't leave him back there." Sakura said turning her gaze onto the Uchiha.

Sasuke nodded in agreement and they both started running back the way they came.

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Orochimaru stared at Naruto's transformed state with both awe and fear in his eyes.

(Remember he left so he never met Naruto's mom)

Naruto pointed his sword at Orochimaru and spoke in a voice that seemed to be coming from beyond the grave. "Orochimaru I think it's time I take your head." Orochimaru charged all of his previously held back chakra, this opponent was not one to be taken lightly.

Naruto put the sword directly infront of his face. "Darkness thrives in shadows thus abhorring the light"

Naruto seemed to relax his stance before he charged at Orochimaru. Naruto was moving at speeds Gai may have had trouble keeping up with and not only that his new form left behind a trail of after images with every movement. Adding to the confusion of the opponent's mind giving Naruto an even greater edge in taijutsu, kenjutsu and to some extent ninjutsu since it confused the opponent of the handseals he made.

Orochimaru took out Kusanagi and blocked. Naruto shifted his stance and then moved to kick Orochimaru in the face. Orochimaru back flipped twice. When he landed he started making handseals faster than what the eye could see.

"**Katon Karyuu Endan" **He yelled letting out a large stream of fire from his mouth towards Naruto. Naruto merely put his sword in his left hand and started making swirling motions with his right.

When the flames were a mere two feet away from his hand they followed the movements of his hand and gathered. Naruto used his chakra and pushed the flames back at Orochimaru. The swirling motion created a long tornado of flames instead of a dragon head.

Orochimaru jumped out of the way and landed on another tree branch. He searched for Naruto but he couldn't find him. _'Right, left, behind, above.' _"BELOW" Orochimaru jumped back just as Naruto's sword cut the branch he was standing on.

To his amazement he saw the tree not only crumble and crack but also rot as if it was dying right before his eyes.

Naruto stuck to the dying tree with his chakra and then headed straight for the snake sannin. Orochimaru blocked a swipe from Naruto's sword and shot his toung out grabbing him by the wrist.

Orochimaru smirked and started slamming Naruto against a tree repeatedly. Naruto eventually stuck to the tree with chakra and grabbed Orochimaru's tongue with his left hand and pulled him in. When Orochimaru was a in range Naruto pushed a good portion of his chakra into his fist and punched Orochimaru straight in the jaw. The snake Sannin went flying and slammed through two trees before coming to a stop.

He looked back up and found himself completely surrounded by black raven feathers falling like rain. He tried to see beyond the feathers but failed. All he could see was black and the faint flicker of light that occasionally broke through was dimming rapidly.

Orochimaru eyes darted left and right _'Damn a genjutsu and a powerful one at that, this boy is indeed impressive. He's probably preparing for an attack right now I must break through this illusion now._

He put his hand in the tiger seal and began concentrating. The genjutsu was indeed powerful it blocked all five senses. Not allowing you to see, hear, taste, smell or feel anything outside of the curtain of feathers.

After a few seconds of working around the complex illusion Orochimaru was finally able to get out of the illusion. But when he did he was almost overwhelmed by the massive chakra buildup in the area. He looked straight up and found Naruto standing on a tree branch directly above him.

Naruto was holding his sword above him with his right hand and his left hand forming a simple seal. The blade was crackling with black and purple lightning his completely blood red eyes staring down at Orochimaru with the black aura swirling around him.

For a brief moment Orochimaru thought he was staring at the angel of death himself.

Naruto narrowed his eyes slightly. "Wellcome to your grave Orochimaru" He swung the sword in a wide arc and the black lightning shot out in all directions infront of him destroying trees and anything else that got in it's path.

Orochimaru's eyes widened in surprise but he started rapidly making handseals. **"Kuchiose no jutsu" **He slammed his palm on the ground and a large snake appeared infront of him in a puff of smoke. The snake was torn to shreds before it even had time to blink.

Naruto grinded his teeth in annoyance. _'So damn close' _In his momentary lapse of concentration Orochimaru took the opening and shot out Kusanagi with his tongue. Naruto was stabbed in the stomach. The blade went straight through and pinned him to a tree.

Naruto was about to move and pull the sword out but Orochimaru threw several kunais and stabbed his forearms and hands, pinning them to the tree as well. Naruto grit his teeth in pain but he refused to cry out.

Orochimaru then pulled back his sword and swallowed it again. He walked up to Naruto with a sick and evil grin pasted on his face. "You were indeed a challenge boy, I've never seen such strength in one so young other than Uchiha Itachi himself."

He leaned in close to Naruto's face with the evil grin still on his face. "Perhaps you will make a better vessel than even Sasuke-kun" Naruto's eyes narrowed once again. He replied in a cold chilling voice. "You will not take me easily snake"

Orochimaru thought it was just an empty threat he leaned in to bite Naruto's neck but just as he had gathered the right amount of chakra he was forced to take a step back a black feather slashed him across the cheek.

He was alarmed he touched his cheek and noticed that it was indeed bleeding. He looked back at Naruto and noticed that several black raven feathers were floating around him and the tree he had pinned him against was rotting, the kunai's he had stabbed him with were rusting and the branch seemed to give way beneath him.

Then realization dawned on him on what the boy had done. Orochimaru had put in the necessary amount of chakra for the curse seal but when he backed away he lost it all and now Orochimaru didn't have enough chakra to make another one.

So now he had but one option he had to kill him since he couldn't just risk the boy informing the Hokage of his presence. _'What a shame he would have made an excellent vessel'_ He was about to move closer but suddenly three kunai's with exploding tags attached to them were stabbed into the ground infront of him.

He jumped back just as they exploded. When the smoke cleared Sasuke and Sakura stood infront of Naruto each with a set of kunai's in their hands. Orochimaru smirked but that smirk soon turned into a frown as he sensed yet another chakra signature. _'Anko, damn why now of all times. Those two will no doubt free the boy and as much as I hate to admit it I cannot defeat both Anko and the boy in my current state_

Unknown to Orochimaru Naruto was losing his energy at an alarming rate. The only weakness of his two forms was that he could not use any of his grandfathers chakra. And with the lack of experience in healing himself the boy was having a hard time fighting Kusanagi's poison most of his energy was being used in finding a way to fight it. Kyuubi was giving him tips and instructions but he was still losing much more energy than what Kyuubi would be losing.

The only reason he hadn't transformed back was because that might indicate he was weakening. He could sence Anko's chakra nearby as well and no matter how much he hated to admit it Orochimaru knew that he couldn't defeat both of them. But if Orochimaru discovered he was weakening he would take the opportunity and defeat all of them.

Sasuke looked back. "Hey Naruto are you--" Whatever he was about to ask died in his throat as he saw Naruto's form. Naruto looked at him with an impatient stare but no one could tell because of the black Aura that covered his features. "Pay attention to your opponent not me"

Sasuke and Sakura then noticed his chakra. It didn't feel like normal chakra it felt void, empty and cold. Both of the teenagers couldn't help but think. _'Is this Naruto?'_

Orochimaru smiled again. "He's right you know you really should be paying attention to me not him." Both Sasuke and Sakura turned and faced him. Orochimaru's smirk grew even wider. "But it's your lucky day. It appears my presence has been noticed so I must leave you now." He then disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Sasuke and Sakura quickly searched the area making sure he wasn't around.

Naruto's transformation receded and his features became normal once again. "Darkness...never...dies...forever." And with that he slipped into unconsciousness.

Before everything went black he could faintly hear Sakura and Sasuke's voices calling out to him.

Sakura examined his injuries and noticed a faint black mark where it appeared he had gotten stabbed "Sasuke I think Naruto was poisoned we have to get him out of here and into shelter for now."

Sasuke nodded and between the two of them they took him off the tree and Sasuke hoisted him over his shoulder.

Both were thinking the exact same thing however. _'I think it's time Naruto answered some questions when he wakes up.'_

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Meanwhile three sound shinobi were jumping from tree to tree in the woods searching for a certain Uchiha.

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I'm not sure if this was good or not but I hope you all enjoyed it.

I'll probably update my other story on Wednesday or Friday so you can all look forward to that.

Oh and the phone company doesn't know when their going to get my normal phone up. Just felt like telling you that.


	15. Complications

Well I'm back.

Here's the new chap hope you like it.

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Sakura and Sasuke had both found shelter under a tree in the middle of the forest. Naruto was laying down near a camp fire they had made still unconscious. Sakura had used every anti poison they had in the first aid kit since she was unsure of just what poison Naruto had been injected with.

Sasuke kept a look out for that grass nin. Even though he was worried for Naruto he couldn't help but wonder just how strong the grass nin was if he was able to beat Naruto.

After a few more minutes of silence Sasuke finally turned and addressed Sakura. "I'm gonna go get some fish or something for us to eat. Will you be all right here while I'm gone?"

Sakura lazily waved her hand at him. "Don't worry I'll be fine. I'm not as helpless as I once was." Sasuke nodded and ran off.

An hour later Sasuke came back with five large fish they started cooking them by the fire. They waited in silence before Sakura decided to break the silence. "Hey Sasuke."

"Yeah?"

"Why do you think Naruto's chakra felt so strange before?" Sasuke said nothing for several seconds. He just silently stared at the fire. After about a minute Sakura thought that he wasn't going to answer. But before she could ask the question again he spoke. "I don't know what that was but…we're going to find out. Naruto is our teammate and he should trust us more than this."

Sakura silently agreed with Sasuke. She was sure Sasuke must have felt slightly angry at their teammate for keeping secrets while she felt a little hurt by it.

Their moment of peace was cut off as a voice called out from behind them. "Uchiha Sasuke."

Sasuke and Sakura turned back around and found three shinobi's with sound forehead protectors. One was a girl with black hair another looked like a wrapped up mummy and the last looked like…a vagabond with a forehead protector.

Sasuke and Sakura stood up and even though they didn't take fighting stances one could tell they were ready to fight. The one with the bandages stepped forward. "Uchiha Sasuke we have come to kill you."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes and stiffened his stance. _'What the hell? I haven't even met these guys before. Why would they want to kill me?' _Sakura's thoughts were moving in roughly the same direction but she was also very worried. The odds were against them, true Sasuke was strong but knowing him he would attack the two boy's while she took on the girl and two against one was still an advantage no matter how you looked at it.

The other sound ninja smirked arrogantly and stepped forward. "Heh, so this is the great Uchiha huh? He doesn't look like much. I bet I can take him on myself!" Sasuke narrowed his eyes even more in anger. He never liked for people to insult him.

"An ugly bastard like you wont even lay a finger on me." The sound nin's smirk turned into an angry snarl and he looked to be just about ready to pop a vein. The ninja covered in bandages looked at his teammate and sighed. "Calm yourself Zaku."

The girl who had remained quiet the whole time spoke up next. "Hey Dosu if Zaku wants to get his ass kicked just let him go." Zaku turned back to her with an angry glare. "Shut up Kin, you bitch, you're the weakest one on the team. You'll probably be the first to get your ass kicked."

The argument would have continued if Dosu hadn't stepped in. "Both of you shut up! Let's complete the mission and get out of here." They immediately stopped their bickering and turned back to Sasuke and Sakura.

However Sakura and Sasuke had used the distraction and managed to get in close range. Sasuke jumped up and kicked Zaku in the face and then used him as a platform to jump and kicked Dosu in the face sending both of them to the floor.

Sakura ran to Kin and gave her a sweep kick. Then in one fluid motion she stood up lifted her left leg high and brought it down on Kin. Kin regained her bearings in time and managed to roll out of the way. She back flipped and got to her feet.

Kin then tried to punch Sakura in the face. Sakura blocked it and then tried to counter with her own punch. Kin moved her head to the side and let the fist pass her by mere inches. She was going to kick Sakura but before she could Sakura had used her other hand and grabbed her by the collar of her shirt. Then with strength Kin didn't think the pink haired Kunoichi had, Sakura lifted Kin over herself and threw her as hard as she could.

Sasuke on the other hand was dealing with Zaku and Dosu. Zaku continued to try to get away from Sasuke so he could use the Zankuha and Dosu continued to try to get close so he could use his sound techniques. Sasuke noticed this so he continued to get close to Zaku while Keeping Dosu a fair distance away from him.

Zaku again tried to jump away from Sasduke but as Sasuke realized that Zaku had jumped back Sasuke jumped forward with all his strength and managed toreach Zaku and deliver a hard kick to his gut that sent him back crashing back down to the earth.

Then in one fluid motion Sasuke turned in mid air towards Dosu and yelled out. **"Katon Ryuuka no jutsu" **Sasuke breathed a long stream of fire and aimed it towards Dosu the sound nin jumped back to avoid the blast but Sasuke expected this and threw several Kunai's and Shuriken where Dosu was going to land.

Dosu saw too late that the Kunai's had exploding tag's attached to them. _'Son of a……' _

BOOM

The tags exploded sending Dosu flying through several trees and branches before coming to a stop. _'Owch' _He shakily stood back up and started running back to where he had been blasted.

Sasuke meanwhile was, to put it simply, beating the living crap out of Zaku. He delivered a roundhouse kick to the side of his head sending him staggering back. He then kicked him in the stomach with such force the air left his lungs and he bent over clutching his gut. Sasuke then delivered a solid uppercut and that was the knockout blow.

He was about to turn around but just then Dosu came flying out of the bushes to Sasuke's right. Sasuke turned around and found Dosu coming in to punch him in the face. Sasuke easily parried the attack and moved to counter but Dosu jumped back before he could.

Sasuke took a fighting stance but before he could move to attack a sharp agonizing pain shot through his right ear moving all the way to the right side of his neck. He clutched the side of his head and doubled over in pain. He suddenly got a sick feeling in his gut and hurled his stomach contents on the forest floor.

"Hehe, looks like even the great Uchiha has his limits." Sasuke moved to stand up but before he could there was a loud cry of. **"Zankuuha"** Sasuke looked back and saw Zaku's attack coming at him.

He was hit full force and sent crashing into a tree.

Zaku then turned and found loosing in Taijutsu to Sakura. When he found an opening he took aim and fired. Sakura just like Sasuke was caught by surprise and hit full force with the attack.

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Naruto on the other hand was blearily opening his eyes finding himself in a very familiar sewer. He struggled to regain his bearings for a few moments before he staggered to his feet and walked over to the giant cage. When he got close enough he noticed Kyuubi sitting in the cage looking positively bored.

"**Well brat it looks like you've gotten yourself in yet another bad situation eh." **Naruto's left eyebrow twitched in mild annoyance. Kyuubi kept talking completely ignoring the annoyance of his Tenant/Grandson. **"Brat we don't have any time to talk. I was originally going to let you wake up and fight off the poison on your own. But seeing as your team, as well as another group of people are fighting, yet loosing rather badly to those three sound gennin you have to wake up right NOW!"**

Kyuubi forcefully threw Naruto back into the conscious world.

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Naruto woke up but he didn't open his eyes or move. He spread out his scence of smell and hearing. He could feel Sasuke's and Sakura's chakra signatures. Okay those two weren't hostile but what about the others.

Ino, Shikamaru and Chouji…unlikely. Ino likes Sasuke and Shikamaru would know not to try to take him on after he heard that little report from Kabuto. Lee…another unlikely he has a crush on Sakura. He could sense his teammates nearby but he sensed no hostility in their scent. So that only left the three unfamiliar signatures in the area.

Neji who was standing on a branch nearby with his Byakugan active saw Naruto's chakra flare for a brief moment. _'Hmm, lets see what he can do' _

Sasuke tried to stand back up but after getting to his knees he stopped. _'What the hell? A feather?' _Indeed a black feather had just floated infront of his face. He was about to disregard it as a bird that flew over him but then another feather fell and then another.

He was very confused but then he felt Naruto's chakra flare it was the same feeling as before, cold and empty. He looked at Sakura and found the same feeling of realization dawn on her features as well.

Neji was just about ready to have a heart attack when he looked at Naruto's chakra coils. Where his chakra was once blue it had transformed into a dark purple almost black color. _'What is he'_

Ino, Chouji, Shikamaru, Ten-Ten and a half conscious Lee were frozen to the spot with the strange cold feel of this chakra. Sasuke and Sakura looked back to Naruto and saw him in his dark transformation getting back on his feet.

Naruto stood his full height and glared with his red eyes to the whole group standing before him. He then looked at Sasuke and Sakura. They looked as if they had just went through a train wreck. He narrowed his eyes and looked to Dosu Zaku and Kin.

He gave off a deep low growl before he spoke. "Foolish…very…foolish." The black feathers tripled in number, making it damn near impossible for anyone to see five feet in front of them.

"The light fades into darkness." Naruto's voice seemed to be coming from all around them. Even Neji took a step back with a little fear on his features.

Zaku, Kin and Dosu were looking around frantically, trying to find this new threat.

After a few seconds Zaku couldn't take it anymore and started blasting his wind blasts frantically in all directions. "COME OUT YOU BASTARD!" Dosu who probably had the sharpest ears of the whole group knew this would just be to their disadvantage. "Zaku stop!"

His words fell on deaf ears and Zaku kept on shooting his Zankuuhas everywhere. Dosu finally had enough and turned back to him. "ZAKU…" Before he could finish his sentence he felt a very ominous presence behind him. "And so the warrior falls."

Dosu turned on his heel and tried to back hand Naruto in the face. Naruto caught his arm bracer with his hand and crushed it in his grip breaking Dosu's bones as well. Dosu yelled in pain and clutched his now broken and bleeding arm.

Zaku and Kin turned around and found Naruto. Zaku didn't even care that his teammate was right there he just shot his Zankuha without a second thought. Naruto however knew what Zaku would do and so when Zaku shot his wind blast Naruto moved at extreamly fast speeds around the blast and reappeared right infront of Zaku.

Zaku took a step back in pure fear. But before he could think of doing anything else Naruto shoved two Kunai's into the holes in his arms. Zaku just like Dosu cried out in pain but because both of his hands were injured he couldn't pull them out.

"Your enemies greatest strength also becomes his greatest weakness"

Naruto then turned and found Kin coming at him with great speed. He was very surprised by her speed until he realized it was a genjutsu. He caught the sound of bells with his heightened senses and cut the wires Kin had attached to them.

Kin however did not notice and continued her charge without stopping. When she got in close she moved to kick Naruto in his face but Naruto effortlessly ducked under her kick and gave a sweep kick to the other leg that was still on the ground making her fall.

Before she hit the ground however Naruto kicked her in the ribs making her rise up a little. He then kicked her toward a tree. When she hit the tree a cracking sound was heard indicating she had broken her ribs.

When he noticed all of his enemies had been dealt with he dispelled the black feather genjutsu letting all the leaf nins see him in his transformed state.

Ino, Chouji, Shikamaru, Ten-Ten and Neiji were all scared. For two reasons: the first being that he looked like the angel of death himself and the second being that he had just beaten the whole sound team that they were having trouble with single handedly.

A shuffle to his right diverted Naruto's attention back to Zaku and Dosu. Both boy's got to their feet and looked at Naruto with terror in their eyes. Without saying anything both of them started running away. Dosu accidentally dropped his scroll without realizing it. Naruto picked it up but then Naruto's eyes moved to Kin. Who was still unconscious by the tree.

'_They even leave their teammate behind. Cowards I'll deal with them later. But first.'_

Naruto took a deep breath and let his transformation recede. He turned to all the teams who were looking at him with wonder mixed with a little fear. He looked at Sasuke and Sakura. "Mind telling me what happened while I was out?"

So Sakura and Sasuke started explaining everything that had happened while he was unconscious. From finding him in the forest pinned to a tree to when the sound team appeared then Lee then Ino, Couji and Shikamaru. By the time she was done everyone had managed to regain their strength and we're getting ready to leave.

"I see come on that mummy dropped the scroll we needed so we can head to the tower. He turned back to the other two teams. "I should thank you all. Without you we would most probably be dead right now."

Ino turned and smiled at him. "Oh no problem at all. By the way forehead girl I'm going to kick your ass in this exam."

"Ha you wish Ino pig." Naruto absently shook his head and then he noticed Neji staring at him with suspicion in his eyes. Naruto didn't want to have questions thrown at him just yet and so he turned to his two teammates. "Come on lets move." Sasuke and Sakura both started walking away but Naruto turned and did something none of them expected.

He picked up Kin, and started then moved to the tower. Sasuke moved forward. "Hey Naruto what are you doing?" Naruto turned back to him with his foxy grin in place. "Well what does it look like Sasuke? I'm taking her to the tower."

"Why? She tried to kill us." Naruto nodded "True she did but I'm not just going to leave her out here in this forest unconscious with two backstabbing teammates and two…no wait…three broken ribs. So we'll take her to the tower leave her with a doctor and then she'll be out of our hair for good. Who know's if we're lucky we might be able to get the information of why she attacked you guys out of her."

Sasuke and Sakura sighed it was never any use arguing with him. "Fine but I'm not carrying her." Naruto nodded and they started to walk away.

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The journey to the tower took much longer than expected. Due to the fact that Naruto was carrying Kin he was being slowed down and Sasuke and Sakura were both still worn out from their fight with the sound nin.

So when night came they set up camp. It would probably take them another five hours to reach the tower but traveling in the forest at night was a very bad idea.

Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke were sitting around the fire with Kin still unconscious and laying right next to Naruto and Sasuke. After several seconds of silence Sasuke looked right at Naruto. He moved his mouth to speak but before he could Naruto cut him off.

"The both of you want some answers don't you?" Both Sasuke and Sakura's head's turned to look at one another asking a silent question. _'How the hell does he do that?'_

Sasuke broke eye contact with Sakura and addressed Naruto. "Yeah we do. We both knew you were strong but what was that power that you used? Your chakra felt really weird. Why would you keep this from us Naruto?"

Sakura spoke up next "Yeah Naruto! We're your teammates and we care about you. You shouldn't keep secrets from us. I mean we don't keep any secrets from you." _'Not that we could'_ She added silently.

Naruto turned to them and gave a defeated sigh. "I suppose I wanted to keep you guy's as a team for a while longer but I guess theirs no use hiding it now is there?"

Sasuke and Sakura were both confused. It seemed that whatever Naruto was going to tell them was really big. Naruto sighed and looked to their eyes. "As the both of you know I have some…traits…that others don't… like claws and gold eyes with slits in them right?"

Sasuke nodded. "Yeah but what does that have to do with anything. The Inuzuka's also have claws. Sure they don't have slitted eyes but I just figured you came from some family away from Konoha."

"Yeah but the reason I…well you see…umm."

"**Look brat just tell them theirs nothing you can do." **Naruto again sighed. He mumbled something incoherent under his breath. Sasuke and Sakura tried to lean in to listen but failed. "Sorry Naruto we missed that."

Naruto sighed again and this time he spoke loud and clear so that all would hear him. "I'm a half demon." Sasuke and Sakura's eyes widened. In their surprise they all backed away from Naruto not realizing that this had a very negative effect.

"As expected the two of you fearme now as well. Well just keep this between us you wont have to worry about me after the chuunin exams I'll ask for a team transfer. Naruto moved to stand but felt two hands on his shoulders. He looked to his right and found Sakura standing there with a warm smile on her face.

To his left Sasuke was standing with a small smirk playing on his lips as well. "You moron do you really think we would care about that?"

Sakura spoke up next "Yeah…to us your still Naruto. So what if you're a half demon? We don't care and neither should you." Naruto looked at them with confusion. After a few seconds he spoke up. "You…you don't care?"

At this both shook their heads. "Not one bit." Naruto smiled brightly at them. "Thanks guy's"

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It was a few minutes later that Sasuke and Sakura both went to sleep. Naruto had volunteered to keep watch. He was still sitting by the fire when he head a groan coming from behind him. He turned around and noticed Kin was waking up.

Kin weakly tried to open her eyes while wondering why her head was spinning so much. She tried to sit up but as she moved to do so she felt a sharp pain in her chest and something pushing her down.

"Don't move. I broke three of your ribs and if you move too much you might puncture a lung." Kin's eyes snapped open suddenly and she saw Naruto leaning over her with a slightly concerned look on his face and his right hand holding her down.

Kin recognized him as the boy that was asleep before he transformed. Her eyes filled with fear and she tried to squirm under his arm. Naruto raised a single eyebrow. "Don't worry I wont hurt you this time. That was just self defence. After I beat your teammates they ran off and left you behind so I brought you with us and managed to help Sakura bandage the area around your broken ribs to help with the pain."

Kin's mind tried to sort through everything he had just said. She wanted to say…something but the only thing that came out was. "My teammates abandoned me?" Naruto nodded still looking at her. "Yup they hightailed it out of there the second I stepped away from them. Not very loyal are they?"

Kin took a deep breath and winced as the pain in her rib's finally registered in her mind. "No not at all." Naruto smiled a little at her and then moved back to the fire. Kin was very confused wasn't this the same boy that had become that…that…thing…when he fought? So now why was he helping her it made no sense.

Then another thought entered her mind. _'He must be keeping me prisoner. He's holding me ransom just incase my teammates catch him by surprise.'_

Satisfied with her deduction she turned back to Naruto. "So how long do you plan to keep me prisoner?" Naruto turned back at her with surprise on his features. "Prisoner? I'm not holding you prisoner you can leave whenever you damn well feel like it. But those ribs are going to keep you from moving right let alone fight."

Kin was shocked to say the least. So he wasn't keeping her prisoner? Then what motive did he have for bringing her here? Unable to contain her curiosity she asked.

"So why'd you bring me here?" Naruto turned back at her with a semi serious expression. "I don't know how they do things in sound but here in Konoha we actually help people. I wasn't about to leave you in the middle of a forest full of ninja and giant animals with no teammates and three ribs broken."

Kin was once again shocked by what she heard. "You cant seriously expect me to believe your doing this out of the goodness of your heart." Naruto shrugged with his shoulders."Heh, whatever pleases you I suppose. Believe what you want but I assure you there isn't any ulterior motive in my helping you. It's just the way most Konoha nin's act. Maybe you should join us and see it for yourself." With that he turned back around and started to focus on the flames.

Kin stared at his back for several seconds before she finally realized that she was still very tired. Her last thought before falling asleep was. _'Join Konoha? Maybe…I will._

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The next morning the team once again woke up and started trecking towards the tower. Kin tried to walk but after several failed attempts Naruto finally convinced her to let him carry her piggyback stile.

They finally arrived at the tower several hours later. Sasuke and Sakura went over to a room to take a shower and get some rest in a real bed while Naruto carried Kin all the way over to the medic ward. Kin thought that he would just dump her in the waiting room but Naruto once again surprised her by staying with her all the way until they got her a room in a bed.

Naruto gave her a small apologetic smile. "Well I'm out I gotta go and see where I'm gonna stay in this place" He turned and started walking away. Before he reached the door Kin called out to him. "Hey Naruto…" Naruto turned back at her with a slightly confused expression. "thanks for helping me."

Naruto smiled his foxy grin and waved at her. "No problem it is kinda my fault this happened anyway. Well I'll see you later" With that Naruto walked out.

Kin leaned back on the bed with her thoughts going a mile a minute. _'Join Konoha?Are the people really as kind as Naruto? In sound its survival of the fittest but here…I don't know it's just peaceful. Sigh What do I do?'_

(This will not be a Naru/Kin pairing. It will be a Naru_/FEMALE_ OC. Trust me I have my reasons for this and you'll like the little plot developments it will come with.)

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Naruto walked down the halls of the tower. Just when he was about to enter his room a swirl of sand came up next to him revealing Gaara. "Brother I have news. I've found who the leader of the sound invasion is!"

Naruto's eyes widened slightly before his face became serious. "Who is it?"

"Some fool named Orochimaru. From what I can tell the test will hold a tornament. The Kazekage and the Hokage will be inside the kage's special seats. Orochimaru is planning to attack the Hokage there. Its safe to assume that my father will help him. As strong as your kage is I don't think he can win against two other Kages without help."

Naruto absently nodded. "Agreed, Orochimaru attacked my team during the exams I'll go and inform the Hokage of these developments. You don't speak to me unless you find new information. If you do then theres a chance your cover will be blown wide open" Gaara nodded and disappeared in a swirl of sand.

Naruto looked up at the roof of the building and sighed _'Things just keep getting more and more complicated don't they'_

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Well that's the end of this chapter hope you all enjoyed it.

Also for the chuunin preliminaries I'm only going to focus on Naruto and Gaara's fight

I think you'll be surprised by who I'm pairing up Gaara in the fight.


	16. The preliminaries

The Genin had all assembled in the middle of the tower, which was obviously used as a fighting arena. They noticed that all of the important people of the village were here. Anko was the first to address them.

Naruto was surprised with the fact that Zaku and Dosu were there. Apparently they had arrived at the tower a day after him. Since Kin was already at the tower they were allowed to continue on with the exams.

Kin wasn't able to participate due to her injuries but Naruto was seriously hoping he got to fight those two in the exam. He would teach them just how much he hated cowards that abandoned their comrades.

"Hokage-Sama will now explain the rules for the third exam, so litsen up!"

The hokage stepped forward. He took a long draw from his pipe before expelling the smoke.

"Before I explain the rules of the third exam, I want to tell you the true meaning for this exam."

"That it's a replacement for war?"

Everyone turned to Naruto who was smiling sadly.

"That is correct Naruto. Go back 50 or so years, and you'll find that all the currently 'allied' countries were enemies fighting for the right to rule. Eventually, they realised that there was a much lest costly way of dealing with the power struggle, and so the Chunin Selection Exams were born. During the main matches, you will be watched by some of the most powerful and influential people on the face of the planet. Each shinobi in the exams is expected to put his life on the line to uphold their village's power and prestige."

Kiba wanted some answers.

"But why the hell do we have to risk our lives to entertain people!"

Sarutobi answered without missing a beat.

"The strength of a country is decided by the strength of it's village. The strength of the village is decided by the strength of the shinobi. If the strength of a shinobi, and therefore it's village and country is clear, the influential and powerful people in the stands will favor that village, and they will receive more clients. However, if the inverse is true, and a shinobi is seen as weak, his or her country will receive less clients. If a village's 'power' deteriorates to a certain level, it is giving the message to the other villages that 'we are weak.' This will signal any country that is even a slight enemy that they are prime for invasion. Therefore we are expected to perform our best and bring power and prestige to our village in order to avoid any potential threats of invasion."

Sarutobi took a puff of his pipe before continuing.

"They only time a shinobi's true strength comes to the surface is during life or death situations. I will now begin explaining the third test's rules-"

" Cough Actually, Hokage-Sama, as the referee, will you allow me to explain the rules?"

"Very well."

The Chunin coughed again and turned around to face the group of Genins.

"Greetings... Cough ... I am Hayate. There's something that must be done before the third test begins, namely, a preliminary."

"What? Why?"

"It may have been that the first and second tests were too easy this year, or it may be that you are all exceptional Genins. Whatever the reason is, there are far too many people left to simply put you all into the next test."

"But why is that?"

"As Hokage-Sama said, there will be powerful people watching the third test. Their time is valuable, and we cannot afford to waste it... Cough ... Therefore, according to the Chunin selection exam rules, we are required to hold a preliminary."

People mumbled but accepted it.

"One final thing, would anyone like to give up now?"

Naruto and Sarutobi's eyes darted over to Kabuto. But the young spy didn't notice and raised his hand with a regretful smile on his face. "Yes I'm afraid I will have to give up. I just don't feel up to the task of a one on one fight."

Naruto narrowed his eyes and addressed him. "Is that so Kabuto? That's odd you don't appear to have any injuries. And not only that you also aren't breathing hard meaning your not as tired as you say you are."

Sarutobi was listening intently for anything he could use against him. Kabuto narrowed his eyes a little but one couldn't tell behind his glasses. He cast a quick glance toward the sound jounin. (Aka: Orochimaru) Orochimaru nodded discretely.

Sarutobi and Naruto both noticed it but said nothing. If it were up to them they would attack Orochimaru right now since they had him both outnumbered and outclassed. But if he managed to get away then he could say it was an un-justified assault and gather allies sympathetic to him or hateful towards Konoha such as Cloud and Stone.

Kabuto gave an exasperated sigh. "Very well Naruto you've convinced me. I'll fight." Naruto narrowed his eyes a little more but said nothing. _'Hmm, Kabuto I swear if I fight you in this exam your not walking away with your life'_

Hayate coughed and got everyone's attention. "Very well since no one is going to quit then I will announce the first match. If you would all please divert your attention to the board."

Everyone turned and found a board that was flashing through several names very quickly.

The names landed on Sasuke and one of Kabuto's teammates. The others all walked up to the stands, leaving the two fighters.

On his way up the stairs Kakashi addressed Naruto. "So what's the verdict on Kabuto and Orochimaru's plan?"

Naruto didn't look at him when he answered. "Kabuto is most likely another of Orochimaru's lackeys. And the old man has sent people to look for his old student, Jiraiya I think his name was. Anyway Jiraiya is going to be in the Hokage booth with Sarutobi. He'll take on either the Kazekage or that fool Orochimaru. Sarutobi has also set up ambushes around the walls of the city. Anyone tries to come in we'll know about it."

Kakashi chuckled lightly. Naruto turned his head slightly in his direction. "What's so funny?" Kakashi waved his hand dismissively "Oh nothing I just found it rather funny that a genin no older than thirteen has more intel on this invasion than most Jounins on either side."

Naruto shrugged with his shoulders. "Don't thank me Gaara's the one who's tipping us off."

Kakashi smiled and once again glued his eyes to his book.

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Meanwhile Kabuto and Orochimaru were having their own conversation.

"Orochimaru-sama please forgive me for my ineptitude."

"Kabuto if you fight that Naruto boy in the preliminaries…" After a few moments of silence Kabuto looked back to Orochimaru. "Kill him…I don't care what it takes. I don't want him walking away from this exam."

Kabuto bowed his head slightly. "As you wish Orochimaru-sama."

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Sasuke's fight with Kabuto's teammate was very quick. He used the Shi Shi rendan, which was basicly riped off from Lee. Naruto and Kakashi gave him a thumbs up while the fan girls had stars in their eyes.

Hayate didn't waste time and called the next match. It was Zaku versus Aburame Shino. The fight was short with Zaku unable to use his Zankuhas properly due to the damage Naruto's kunais had caused. Naruto was still fairly impressed with Shino's intelligence. But then again most Aburame's were very well balanced ninja in terms of speed, strategy, chakra control, and chakra capacity.

Hayate then announced the next fight. Now this one Naruto was interested in. It was Kiba versus Dosu. Naruto already knew who would win in this fight. With Kiba and Akamaru's ultra-sensitive hearing it didn't take a genius to figure out that the attacks would do much more damage to Kiba then anyone else.

Akamaru was unconscious after the first sound blast. Kiba tried to fight for a while longer but eventually fell victim to the technique as well.

The next fight was Kankuro versus another of Kabuto's teammates.

Naruto wasn't interested in this fight and so turned back to his teammates. "So Sakura who do you think your going to fight?" Sakura shrugged and kept watching the fight. "Don't know but if it turns out to be that Gaara guy I don't think I'll win."

Naruto closed his eyes and leaned back on the railing waiting for the fight to finish.

After Kankuro used a trick with his puppet Karasu he won the fight and Naruto turned back to the billboard. The names kept flashing through until one stopped.

Gaara

Now Naruto was interested. He was half hoping he'd get paired up with Gaara and half hoping that he wouldn't get paired up with him so he'd be able to fight him in a stadium in front of a lot of people.

And the last name WAS! (Enter drum roll here)

Ten Ten

Naruto's head slumped slightly. But he soon brightened up at the prospect of fighting Gaara in the real exam.

Gaara soon disappeared in a swirl of sand and reappeared on the stadium floor. In his tipical pose with his arms crossed with the brown cloak covering his ears, tail and eyes from view.

Naruto sighed and shook his head. "Show off" Gaara smirked slightly and Naruto noticed a small trickle of sand forming a message at his feet.

'_I got it from you'_

Naruto's eyebrow twitched in annoyance but he kept his mouth shut.

Ten Ten had just arrived on the stadium and took out two Kunais. She settled herself in a fighting stance and waited for Gaara to make the first move. He was secretly trying to remember where he had seen that stance before but he couldn't quite place it. He thought for a brief moment before it finally clicked in his head.

'_Oh now I remember! That stance is usually favored by weapon experts. She doesn't stand a chance but whatever.'_

Ten Ten saw that he wasn't going to make the first move so she threw both of the kunais in her hand towards Gaara. As usual his sand came up and defended him. Ten Ten was a little shocked but she decided to move around him and throw as many weapons as she could. Something had to get through…right?

Gaara waited for Ten Ten to stop throwing before he dropped his wall of sand. When he took a good look around his eyes went a little wider than normal. _'Where the hell did she keep THAT many kunai? Good lord I think she's got more weapons than the whole Anbu division combined.'_

He then noticed that he couldn't see Ten Ten anywhere. He spread out his senses a little and noticed she was above him. He looked up and sure enough Ten Ten was sticking to the roof with chakra. He raised an eyebrow but waited for her to execute whatever she was planning.

Ten Ten took out two scrolls from her pouch and smeared some blood on them. Gaara's eyebrows raised a little more. _'A summoning scroll? Interesting.' _Ten Ten unrolled the scrolls and yelled out.

"Soshoryu (Twin Rising Dragons)" Sudenly hundreds of weapons ranging from kunais to shuriken to spears and katanas came out of the scrolls and headed straight for Gaara. Who's mouth was hanging slightly open. _'SHE HAD MORE OF THOSE THINGS?'_

His sand once again came up and protected him from all of the weapons. Ten Ten landed on the ground and was shocked to find Gaara still standing in the same spot without so much as a hair out of place. _'Damn it! What the hell am I supposed to do? Nothing is working. Maybe if I get in close range I'll be able to do something.' _

Ten Ten unrolled another scroll and out popped a sword. Gaara's eye twitched a little but he said nothing. When he saw Ten Ten charging at him with the sword. Gaara smirked a little. _'Let's see how good I am compared to a weapon specialist'_ Ten Ten ran as fast as she could towards Gaara but she stopped when a swirl of sand appeared in front of Gaara.

When the sand dissipated it revealed Gaara's spear. Gaara calmly walked over to the spear and picked it up. Ten Ten was now very cautious. If he was using a spear then that gave her both an advantage and a disadvantage. With the spears longer reach it made it dificult to land a blow at close range. But if one indeed managed to get in close then the advantage would be theirs. Gaara took a relaxed stance and spoke for the first time. "If you are indeed a weapon specialist then that means that you are skilled with that blade are you not?"

Ten Ten was caught a little off guard by him speaking but she soon recovered and spoke back. "Umm yeah I guess I am." Gaara nodded and replied "I see then I would like to test my own abilities against you in a formal duel do you acept?" Ten Ten was very confused so she decided to voice her confusion. "Umm, I don't get it." Gaara sighed.

"We don't use any techniques other than those involved in weapons. Not even Kawarimi is allowed. The first to make their opponent bleedwins." Ten Ten thought for a moment. Practically all of her attacks were weapon based so this was more to her advantage than to his.

'_Hmn and all I have to do is cut him first to win huh?_

But then another thought occurred to her. "What about that sand of yours?" Gaara shrugged. "I won't use it." Ten Ten smiled. "Then we have a deal." Gaara nodded and took a more ready stance. Ten Ten took her own stance while the others in the balcony were leaning so much on the railings it looked like they were about to fall over.

Gaara as usual looked like a statue and as usual had the patience of one. Ten Ten however did not have this gift so she charged first. When Ten Ten was close enough Gaara's spear shot out like a snake aiming for her. Ten Ten swatted the weapon away with her own. She then came up with a high kick. Gaara leaned back and let it pass him by.

Ten Ten then tried to come down with a downward slash. Gaara stepped back with his right foot and let the blade pass right in front of him. Ten Ten then tried to swing to his face Gaara stepped back with his left foot this time. The blade passed only a few inches from his face. Ten Ten then tried to swing to his right leg. Gaara calmly lifted his right leg and let Ten Ten's swing pass right underneath it. Gaara was started lowering his foot back but Ten Ten seeing that he had started his decent quickly stopped and tried a second swing at his leg. Gaara's eyes widened slightly but he thought fast and put the blunt end of his spear down in between her attack and his foot.

The weapons met with a loud clang. Gaara pushed her off and tried a sweep at her legs. Ten Ten regained her balance and saw it coming. She jumped straight up and tried to come down with a downward slash. When Gaara saw her jump he knew what she would do and used the momentum of his swing to do a 180. With his back to her Ten Ten thought she would win for sure. But Gaara once again surprised her by spinning the spear in his hands and placing it across his back. Gaara was slightly crouched he turned his head back to a very surprised Ten Ten.

"Impresive…but this contest is not over." Gaara used his free hand and took out a kunai from his pouch. He turned on his heel and tried to swipe at Ten Ten. Ten Ten saw his attack coming and did a cartwheel over it. She landed and took out another Kunai from……somewhere and threw it to Gaara's head.

Gaara didn't expect her to have another kunai after she threw so many and so was caught slightly off guard. So off guard in fact that Ten Ten's kunai was actually able to hit the hood of his cloak and bring it off. Everyone but Naruto, Temari and Kankuro were openly gawking at Gaara. Even Kakashi had dropped his precious Icha Icha in surprise. Gaara twitched a little in annoyance but gave no other outward expressions. Ten Ten was the first to snap out of her stupor.

"Are those ears real?" Gaara closed his eyes and sighed "Yes their real." When he oppened his eyes again Ten Ten was barely two feet infront of him. Gaara mentaly cursed himself for letting her get so close to him. He closed his eyes and waited for her attack but he soon felt…his ears being rubbed.

"HOLY CRAP THEY ARE REAL!" Ten Ten continued rubbing his ears. While Naruto Temari and Kankuro were desperately trying to hold in their laughter. After several seconds Naruto couldn't take it anymore and just burst out laughing. Temari and Kankuro soon followed suit and they were all eventually rolling on the floor clutching their stomachs.

Gaara tried glaring at them but with Ten Ten still rubbing his ears it really didn't work out. It just made Naruto start laughing even more. Ten Ten was stopped from her…experimenting with Gaara's ears when sand wrapped around her and gently pried her off of Gaara. Gaara put her about five feet away from him and had his sand wrap around her sword and give it back to her.

"Can we please continue." He asked not bothering to hide the annoyance in his voice. Ten Ten blushed a little. She then smiled and scratched the back of her head in an embarrassed manner. "Sorry couldn't help myself."

"Indeed." He replied mildly annoyed. Ten Ten and Gaara took their respective fighting stances. Ten Ten once again charged first. She came in trying to stab Gaara in the stomach. Gaara batted her attack away with the other end of his spear. He then tried to slice at her stomach. Ten Ten shifted her position and looked at Gaara. She then noticed something. "Hey why are your eyes like that?"

Gaara once again twitched in mild annoyance. "Long story. I'll tell you if you beat me though." Ten Ten smirked. She shifted her position again and tried to punch Gaara in the face. Gaara moved to the side. He then took hold of Ten Ten's wrist and twisted it. Ten Ten gave a slight grunt in pain but she then jumped up and tried to spin kick Gaara in the face with both legs.

Gaara immediately let go of her wrist and jumped over her attack. He flipped in mid air and landed behind her. Ten Ten turned around and took out another kunai and threw it. Gaara spun around fast and kicked her right in her stomach, sending her flying to the opposite wall. Ten Ten hit the wall hard leaving a rather large indent.

Just as she started falling Gaara appeared in front of her in a swirl of sand and caught her. He then gently laid her on the ground. Hayate seeing that the fight was over addressed the crowd. "Ten Tenis unable to continue fighting. Gaara is the winner."

Unknown to anyone else Gaara smirked. _'No I lost this duel.' _A small trickle of blood fell from his cheek down to the floor of the arena._ '_

_This Ten Ten is interesting…very interesting indeed'_

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The next fight was between Sakura and Ino. Sakura won rather easily due to the extra training. And after that Temari fought against Shikamaru. Shikamaru showed some impressive strategies but gave up in the end. Igniting Ino's furry.

Lee fought against Chouji afterwards.

Now that was a onesided fight if Naruto had ever seen one. Lee won without even having to take off his weights. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Will Hyuuga Hinata and Hyuuga Neji please come to the arena."

Hinita stiffened up. Neji just smirked and jumped down to the floor of the arena.

Hinita made her way slowly down to the ground, hoping to delay the inevitable. Once they were facing each other, Neji spoke up.

"I never thought I'd have the pleasure of fighting you, Hinita-Sama."

"Neji-Niisan..."

Sakura looked concerned "Hinata cant win. I mean don't get me wrong she was always a sweet girl but Neji is out of her league."

Naruto looked down to the arena for a few seconds before he spoke.

"No Sakura, watch carefully. Hinata is about to show you the meaning of true strength. Sakura, Sasuke and even Kakashi gave Naruto confused looks before they turned back to the match. Hayate brought his hand down and jumped back.

"Before we fight, I'd like to say something, Hinita-Sama. You don't make a good shinobi. Forfeit now! You are too kind, you wish for harmony and avoid conflict. You agree with others, never resisting..."

Neji continued to berate Hinata. After a while Naruto had heard enough of Neji's voice.

"Oi! Hinata! Are you going to let that bastard trash talk you like that? Chin up! As for you, Neji, I suggest you stop acting like everything's decided by fate alone. If you're such a 'great shinobi' yourself, shut the fuck up and prove it! Talk's cheep! I want to see why you're called the person blessed with more Hyuuga talent than anyone else. Right now, all I see is an arrogant bastard who thinks he knows absolutely everything! If you can beat Hinata, I might just start believeing in your 'title'! Go on, Hinita! Kick his ass! I know you can do it!"

Hinita looked up at Naruto and couldn't help but feel courage. She lowered her eyes.

_'Arigato... Naruto-Kun...'_

Hinita looked back up at Neji with nothing but determination in her eyes. She formed a seal and activated her clan's Bloodline Limit.

Neji frowned, and got into his juken fighting stance and Hinita did the same.

"Neji-Niisan. Let us fight!"

They charged at each other and began pumping large amounts of chakra out of their hands in an attempt to damage to opponent's chakra coils. They traded turns attacking and evading, before they eventually both switched to an offensive attack. They both landed an attack on each other and the room went silent. Eventually, Hinata stiffened and coughed up blood. She set her eyes into a determined glare and pushed Neji's arm away from her neck and attempted to strike his heart. Neji used one hand to grab Hinata's attacking arm and the other to strike a Tenketsu in her arm. Hinata began panting heavily. Neji pulled back her jacket sleeve, revealing her struck tenketsu. Hinata looked at her arm in astonishment.

"So from the beginning you were..."

"Correct.. I was sealing your tenketsu."

Neji struck Hinata, sending her flying, she landed on her back.

"This is the difference in our unchangeable powers. The moment you said you wouldn't run, you set yourself up for regret. You should be in despair right now. Forfeit."

Hinata started struggling back to her feet.

"I... will never... go back on my word... That is my way of the ninja..."

Hinata looked up to Naruto, who smiled back at her with something that was almost alien to her. Approval. Hinata smiled back.

Hinata charged back at Neji, this time unable to use her juken fighting style, due to her tenketsus being sealed. She fought Neji with her remaining power before Neji executed a cruel juken strike to Hinata's heart. Hinata fell forward. Neji got back up and smirked.

"From the start, your attacks have done nothing."

Hayate was sure this was the end.

"Hinata is unable to continue, and therefore-"

"Don't even think about stopping the match yet!"

Everyone turned to Naruto. Who had a look that made Gaara cringe slightly.

Naruto pointed at Hinata.

"This is where Hinata gets her revenge. Watch. And see the meaning of true strength."

Hinata slowly got up. She was struggling to stand. Everyone wondered what sort of 'revenge' Hinata could possibly get in that condition. Neji voiced everyone's concerns

"Why do you stand? You'll really die if you push yourself anymore."

"It's not over..."

"Acting tough is useless. You can barely stand, I can see that. From the moment you were born, the responsibility of the Hyuuga main house has been forced onto you. You have always hated yourself for your own weakness. But people cannot change. That is destiny. There's no need to suffer anymore. Let it go!"

"That's not true, Neji-Niisan. Because I can see it... It's not me at all... The person lost and suffering within the destiny of the main and branch houses... Is you, Neji-Niisan."

Neji snapped. He charged at Hinata. Hayate started forward.

"Neji-Kun! This match is over! Stop!"

However, Neji disregarded Hayate and continued his charge at Hinata. He came in and tried to deliver a powerful strike of the Juuken to her heart. But before he could something wrapped around his wrist and pulled him back. The object that wrapped around his wrist suddenly started burning him.

He looked up and found Naruto was the one who had stopped him holding a whip that appeared to be made out of flames.

"Bastard" Neji whispered trying to hold back from succumbing to the pain of his wrist being burnt. Naruto narrowed his eyes at him. "Your pathetic" He spoke in a voice that was so cold even Orochimaru had a slight chill run up his spine.

At this point in time, Hinata's heart ruptured. Hinata fell to the ground, coughing up huge chunks of blood. Kurenai ran towards Hinata, but Naruto got to her first and blocked her path.

"Naruto, let me see my student!"

"You will wait."

Kurenai was about to protest and push Naruto out of the way but just before she could Naruto's hair turned silvery white, his eyes turned white with a white mist coming out of them and white feathers started gathering around him. Naruto unsheathed his sword. Kurenai was about to jump in again but this time it was Kakashi that stopped her.

"Wait Kurenai" Kurenai looked back at Kakashi. She didn't know what the hell was going on.

Naruto's sword glowed in a light blue for a moment. He then sliced the air above Hinata's body. Hinata and Naruto both glowed for a brief moment before it died down and Naruto transformed back.

Naruto stepped away from Hinata and Kurenai came forward along with the medics. They all knelt down and started checking Hinata. The medics all backed away in surprise after several seconds. Kurenai feared the worst.

"Is…is she…" One medic turned to her sensing her distress. "No! No! In fact she's perfectly healed. Everyone's eyes went as wide as saucers. "WHAT?" The medic nodded still with a confused expression on his face.

Everyone turned to Naruto. And their eyes went even wider. He was leaning against the wall clutching his chest coughing up blood. Kakashi ran over to Naruto as fast as he could. When he got close Naruto held up his hand to stop him.

"Don't worry I'm fine now." Kakashi still had a worried expression on his face. What the hell did you do?" Naruto wiped the blood off the corner of his mouth before he replied. "Isn't it obvious I transferred her wounds over to me."

Kakashi was sure his eyes came out of his skull. "YOU DID WHAT?" Naruto waved his hand dismissively "Kyuubi healed it don't worry."

"**I would appreciate if you never do something as stupid as that again." **

"Are you sure your all right Naruto the promotion isn't worth your life." Naruto once again dismissed him with a wave of his hand.

Kurenai on the other had was dumbfounded by what she was hearing. Why would he do something like that. She just couldn't understand it.

Before she could ask him Naruto turned his piercing gaze back at Neji.

"All of your attacks were aiming to kill, weren't they? How the hell can you do that to a blood relative of yours?"

"That's none of your business. Stay out of the Hyuga's affairs."

Naruto calmly walked over to Hinata and looked at her unconscious form. "Neji before this test is over I will make sure you pay for your actions on this day."

Neji snorted and started walking back up the stairs. "I don't answer to empty threats." Naruto and the others soon followed.

Hayate seeing that the little spectacle was over addressed everyone again

"I appologise for the delay. The next contestants are about to be announced."

Everyone once again concentrated on the board. The names it chose this time were:

Yakushi KabutoVS.Uzumaki Naruto

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Well I hope you liked it.


	17. Kabuto's fate

Sorry for the delay but was suffering an error and wouldn't let me upload the document.

But anyway I'm back and here's the new chap hope you like it.

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Naruto and Kabuto stared at the board for several seconds before what happened actually registered in their minds. They turned and locked eyes with each other each one giving a silent threat. '_Your life ends today'_

Naruto started walking towards the stairs when Kakashi spoke to him in a voice for only him to hear.. "Naruto be careful. If this one is as strong as we think then I might not be able to step in on time."

Naruto smirked and looked back at him. "But Kakashi you're never on time for anything." Kakashi's left eyebrow twitched in mild annoyance. He looked away and muttered something under his breath that sounded an awful lot like 'Stupid brat' and 'no respect'.

Naruto's smirk grew a little but it disappeared almost as quickly as it came.

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Kabuto meanwhile was having a very similar conversation with Orochimaru.

"Remember Kabuto I don't care what you have to do just make sure you kill the brat."

Kabuto nodded respectfully "Yes Orochimaru-sama." He started walking away when Orochimaru spoke up again. "Kabuto I mean _anything_. Understand?" Kabuto turned back with a raised eyebrow. "Even the techniques that can be directly related to you Orochimaru-sama?"

To Orochimaru's swift nod Kabuto's eyes widened. _'He's serious! He must truly consider this boy a threat.' _Kabuto's eye's wandered to Naruto. _'Amazing that one so young could unnerve Orochimaru-sama this much.' _He smirked and adjusted his glasses _'This will surely get the old blood boiling again'_

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Naruto and Kabuto entered the Arena and took their positions. Hayate saw they were ready and raised his hand. "Uzumaki Naruto of the leaf vs. Yakushi Kabuto of the leaf……BEGIN!"

Naruto didn't waste time and charged at Kabuto head on. When he got close he tried to claw at Kabuto's face. Kabuto deftly dodged and grabbed Naruto's arm. He pushed chakra into his arm and snapped it. He smirked but his smirked disappeared when Naruto vanished in a puff of smoke.

'_When did he…'_ Kabuto was unable to finish his thoughts as the real Naruto came out of the ground behind him. Kabuto turned around but was greeted with a foot to his face that sent him flying. Kabuto flipped in mid air and landed with his feet on the wall.

He jumped away as Naruto's flame whip came and destroyed the section of the wall he was once standing on. He landed on his feet and charged at Naruto with a chakra scalpel in hand.

Sarutobi and Kakashi saw this and thought the same thing. _'That technique is not for a gennins skill. Orochimaru must truly want Naruto dead.'_

Kabuto lunged at Naruto aiming for his chest. Naruto swerved to the side and tried to hit Kabuto with a roundhouse kick to the face. Kabuto ducked under the attack and tried to counter with an uppercut. Naruto backflipped in time and managed to kick Kabuto in the chin with the maneuver.

Naruto took a fighting stance. Kabuto rubbed his chin with a disturbing smirk on his face. "Kukuku Naruto-kun you are indeed impressive" Naruto said nothing. He merely stared with an ice cold look on his face and in his eyes.

Naruto wordlessly unsheathed his sword and settled himself in a very relaxed stance. Kabuto adjusted his glasses with the sick grin still on his face. Kabuto didn't wait another second and charged at Naruto head on.

Kabuto tried to attack with a spin kick. Naruto ducked under Kabuto's leg and grabbed the leg as it passed over him with his right hand. Then with his left he grabbed Kabuto's other leg and turned him as hard as he could.

Kabuto flipped a few times in the air and landed on his back with a loud thud. He opened his eyes just in time to see Naruto's clawed hand coming at him. Kabuto's eyes widened slightly and he rolled to the side.

When he stopped he shifted his position and kicked Naruto in the back of the head as hard as he could. Naruto took the hit and used the momentum to roll forward. He stood up swiftly and turned to find Kabuto coming at him.

Naruto swerved to the side of Kabuto's fist and kicked him in his stomach as hard as he could with his knee, knocking the air right out of him. Naruto Then took hold of Kabuto's arm and threw him to the wall of the arena, making a hole in the process.

Meanwhile up in the stands everyone was holding their breath. This was by far the most exiting match of the whole preliminaries. Even Shikamaru was interested in the outcome. Gaara had absolute faith in his brother but he had to admit that his opponent was very skilled.

Kabuto, who was still in the crack he had made in the wall, opened his eyes and saw Naruto charging at him with his sword. Just as Naruto attacked him by trying to stab him in the face. Kabuto moved his head to the side and kicked Naruto in his stomach.

Kabuto moved fast and got out of the hole he had made in the wall and took a fighting stance. Naruto tried to swing at him again but Kabuto dodged. Naruto started pushing chakra to both his arms and his legs so he could move faster. Kabuto was having a hard time dodging all of the attacks and was really starting to sweat.

Naruto tried to hit Kabuto with a side swipe to his stomach. Kabuto jumped back slightly, barely avoiding the swing. Naruto moved fast and then tried to thrust at Kabuto. Kabuto slapped his hands together and caught the blade.

He was going to try to break it but just as he began to gather chakra in his arms the blade started burning his hands. Kabuto let go of the blade with a jump. His distraction was enough for Naruto to swing and actually cut him across the chest.

Kabuto staggered back and Naruto delivered a punishing kick to the area that he cut, sending Kabuto flying.

Naruto waited for the dust to clear. When it did he was surprised to find Kabuto still standing without a single scratch. He didn't let his surprise show and merely stared with impassiveness.

The others on the balcony were all openly gawking at Kabuto.

Kabuto looked at Naruto and started laughing. "Kukuku, Naruto-kun you are indeed impressive. I haven't been this exited in a long long time…but sadly all good things must come to an end." Kabuto suddenly got black markings all around his body and his skin turned a sick shade of purple. He grew fangs, claws and a spiky club like tail. His eyes becme slits and he grew horns on his head. His left arm transformed from a normal hand to a scythe like blade.

(Not sure if Kabuto has a curse seal but that's why its called Fan_ fiction_)

Even Gaara was wide eyed at the transformation. The others in the croud all looked like they were going to be pissed while the jounin's in the group's were ready to jump in to stop the fight.

Hayate was about to step in but he toped as the Hokage's voice rose over the crowd. "No one is to interfere in this fight!" All the jounin's except Kakashi went wide eyed at the declaration.

Anko decided to voice her opinion. "Hokage-sama that boy has a curse seal from Orochimaru that other student is going to get killed!" Sarutobi leaned back in his chair and took a smoke of his pipe. "I don't know why that boy has a curse seal but I have faith in Naruto do not worry."

Anko and the rest of the jounin's turned back to the fight. Orochimaru up in the stands smirked. _'I really thought the old fool would be smart enough to know when one of his students is going to die'_

Naruto stared impassively at Kabuto and felt the rise in his chakra. _'Orochimaru's seal is indeed impressive. But it will ultimately destroy the person wielding it. I must end this now.'_

Naruto's hair went white and his eye's became white with a white mist flowing out of them. His sword cracked several times before the metal shattered completely revealing a blade made completely out of white light.

Everyone in the stands were now gawking at _both _of the contestants. Orochimaru raised a curious eyebrow._ 'Strange this transformation is very similar to the one he had in the forest but that time his chakra felt void and cold. Whereas here it feels warm and strangely comforting. Is this some form of bloodline limit?'_

Kabuto paid no heed to the transformation and charged at Naruto at speeds that even Kakashi had trouble keeping up with. He was closing the distance quickly. But as he came in close Naruto's left hand that was closed in a loose fist cackled with white lightning. Naruto opened his hand and the lightning shot out in all directions.

Kabuto jumped back as the lightning tore through the ground and spears of light came from both the floor and the roof. Naruto standing in the middle of them. The spears of light slowly receded back to the earth. Kabuto was still a little unnerved but he said nothing.

Naruto raised his sword and charged at Kabuto full speed. Kabuto met his charge. Kabuto tried to swing with his scythe like arm. Naruto ducked under the attack and Kabuto tried a backwards swing with the same arm. Naruto lifted his sword and blocked the swipe. Kabuto then used his club like tail and swiped Naruto's feet right out from under him.

Kabuto then tried to use his tail to crush Naruto's skull. Naruto backflipped and dodged the attack, barely. He stood up and tried to swipe at Kabuto with an upward swing with his sword. Kabuto leaned back and dodged. The movement left him open for an attack however.

Naruto didn't waste time and punched Kabuto in the stomach. Kabuto heaved over in pain and clutched his stomach. Naruto then took his sword and slashed him on the side of his ribs. Kabuto gritted his teeth against the pain and tried to swing at Naruto.

Naruto saw the attack coming and lifted his sword to block. Kabuto saw this too late and hit the sword. The sword sliced all the way to his bone. Kabuto cried out in pain and jumped back pulling the sword out in the process.

Kabuto healed his arm and glared at Naruto with hate in his eyes. "I wont let some worthless piece of trash like you beat me. Kabuto then made several handseals and buried his hands in the ground. Naruto continued to stare at him impassively.

Seconds later hundreds of snakes came out of the ground around Naruto and moved to bite him. Naruto raised his sword and moved faster than anyone could see. Moments later the snakes were in pieces and Naruto was standing in the same spot without a speck of blood on him.

However when the snakes came out of the ground they blocked his view of Kabuto for a spit second and that was enough for Kabuto to charge in and get close to Naruto. Kabuto moved fast and punched Naruto right in the face. Naruto would have gone flying but Kabuto grabbed his ankle and slammed him into the wall of the arena.

Kabuto then proceeded to toss Naruto around like a rag doll. When he was going to slam him against the floor, Naruto shot his hands forward and landed on his hands. He then turned around and used his free foot to kick Kabuto in the face.

Naruto got to his feet and charged at Kabuto. He tried to attack with a downward swing. Kabuto used his blade-like arm and blocked it. Naruto pushed Kabuto's blade to the side and punched him in the face repeatedly with his free hand.

Kabuto tried to use a chakra scalpel to counter attack but Naruto caught his wrist and snapped it like a twig. Kabuto hissed in pain and jumped back.

Naruto sliced the air in front of him and spoke. "Kabuto it's been a lot of fun but I'm afraid that it will end now."

Naruto pushed chakra into his legs and charged at Kabuto with all the speed he could muster raising the stone tiles behind him. When he was only twenty feet away he lunged at Kabuto with his sword outstretched. He then started a rough imitation of Kiba's **'Tsuuga'** Kabuto jumped back. Naruto stopped spinning and landed infront of Kabuto. Kabuto swung at him using his sickle like arm. Naruto jumped up and came back down with his left arm cracking with white lightning, aiming for Kabuto's face.

Kabuto jumped back avoiding the main attack but when Naruto's attack hit the floor it exploded, sending lighting and debris everywhere. The lightnig slammed right into Kabuto's chest and sent him flying a cross the room.

Naruto didn't waste time and did some more handseals. Naruto took hold of his sword and sliced the air infront of him in a wide arc. Lightning bolts shot out from the blade and headed straight for Kabuto, who was still trying to stand up after being hit by the first bolt.

The lightnig hit him head on and his screams of pain were muffled by the roaring sound of the lightning. When the light faded and the smoke cleared it revealed Naruto on one knee using his sword for support panting hard and Kabuto in his normal form as well, gasping for breath, burnt in several places.

Naruto struggled to his feet and started walking towards Kabuto. Kabuto was trying to heal himself but it wasn't just external damage that was done to his body but internal as well. Most of his internal organs were fried. He was only able to save his heart with some major chakra manipulation. His nervous system wasn't working properly due to the massive electrical overload in his body.

Kabuto realized with a sudden horror that these injuries would take at least two minutes to heal. And after he was done he would most probably be depleted of chakra. Making him incapable of fighting.

Naruto slowly walked over to Kabuto with a cold look in place. He walked close and whispered so that only he could hear. "Orochimaru will soon share your fate." Kabuto's eye's widened. He moved to yell something out but before he could naruto loashed out with his flame whip and decapitated him.

All the gennins exept for Sasuke and Sakura were shocked at what Naruto had done. Shortly after Kabuto activated his curse seal Kakashi pulled them to the side and told them that Kabuto was suspected as a sound spy. So they understood.

Sarutobi breathed a sigh of relief as he saw Kabuto's lifeless form.

Orochimaru on the other hand was absolutely livid. He had to bite the inside of his cheek to avoid himself from lashing out with Kusanagi and killing him on the spot.

Naruto made sure that Kabuto was dead and that there were no more traps around before he finally let his guard down. He promptly collapsed from chakra exhaustion.

The medics soon came and took Kabuto's now headless body. And Naruto's exhausted form and took him to the medical wing.

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Well that's the end of this chap hope you all liked it. I kinda expected more of myself for this chap but nothing really came to mind. Perhaps I'll revise it later on.


	18. Enter the pervert

Well here's the new chap hope you like it.

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Naruto blearily opened his eyes and groaned as the white ceilings seemed to magnify the light that came in through the windows. He groaned and shut his eyes tightly in protest. "Goddamnit. Its way to early for this shit."

"My, my that's quite a vocabulary you got there Naruto." Naruto opened one eye and glared at his sensei who was calmly leaning against the wall reading his famous orange book.

After several seconds Naruto stopped glaring and sat up on the bed. "So how long have I been out?"

"Oh a little over twelve hours. Sasuke and Sakura left to get some sleep about three hours ago." He replied not taking his eyes away from his book. Naruto got up from the bed and stretched. Kakashi waited for him to finish before he continued. "Well you have officially one month to train before the main Chuunin exam."

Naruto agusted his white coat and lazily eyed the jounin. "Arent you gonna help me?" Kakashi sighed, closed his book and walked over to Naruto with a look that was half serious have apologetic.

"Naruto I'm sorry but as you know everyone on our team managed to win their fights so they've all advanced to the main fights and as much as I want to I cant hope to train all of you for the exam properly. You're probably as strong or stronger than me so I'm sure you'll win but Sakura and Sasuke need help."

Naruto waved his hand dismissively "Yeah yeah don't worry about it but who am I fighting against anyway?"

Kakashi still looked troubled but he answered "I think your gonna like this. Your fighting against Neji." A wide evil smirk grew on Naruto's face. "That sound kid Dosu is fighting against Gaara, Sakura is fighting against Temari, Sasuke is fighting against Shino and Lee is fighting against Kankuro."

"I see" Naruto replied looking out the window thinking of ways to beat Neji into a bloody pulp. He turned back just in time to catch a scroll that Kakashi threw at him. Naruto stared at the scroll with a raised eyebrow. "I'm not going to be able to train you personally but I'm not going to leave you hanging completely. I'll see you around Naruto sorry again."

And with that Kakashi disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

Naruto opened the scroll and started reading _'Hmm, Chidori and Raikiri. Interesting.' _He rolled the scroll back up and put it in his pocket. With that he walked out the door of his hospital room.

As he was walking down the hallways he couldn't help but feel like he'd been there before. With a start he realized that this was the same place he had left the sound girl, Kin.

He toyed with the thought of visiting her for a few seconds. After a while he shrugged _'Bah it couldn't hurt much._' With that thought he walked over to where he remembered leaving her. He knocked lightly on the door and was answered with a gruff 'What?'

Seeing that answer to be as good as any other invitation he opened the door and walked in. He found Kin sitting on the bed with some bandages around her mid section. He looked at her face and found a look of surprise. He smiled sheepishly and waved at her. "Hi" He greeted cheerfully.

Kin blinked a few times in surprise before she finally spoke. "What are you doing here?" Naruto shrugged with his shoulders. "I just came to visit you. Is that so wrong?"

Kin looked at him as if he was some sort of alien. "Your visiting me?" She asked with something akin to wonder laced in her voice. Naruto arched his eyebrow and answered very slowly, like he was speaking to a five year old. "Yeeeess I am. Is that a problem?"

Kin blinked a few more times before she finally spoke. "Why?" Naruto sighed and slapped his forehead. _'Honestly this girl acts as if human kindness is banned in her home'_

"Because I felt like it Kin." Naruto's eyebrows suddenly shot up in surprise as another thought entered his mind. "Don't tell me your teammates haven't visited you!" At kin shaking her head from side to side Naruto growled in anger. He took a deep breath to calm himself and spoke "Well I'm glad your recovering but I cant stay. I have to train for the exams but if you ever need help."

He took out a small piece of paper and threw it at her. Kin caught the paper with little difficulty. She looked back to where Naruto was standing only to find that he had already left. She opened the note and found an address. She shrugged and put the note in her pocket.

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Naruto sat down in the clearing and unrolled the scroll. He looked it over once and sighed. He could probably master the technique by the end of the month with practice but it would definitely be a lot easier if he had a teacher or someone to give him some tips.

He took in the scent of the air around him. _'Steam?'_ He questioned silently in his mind as he took in the scent again. If there was steam then that meant he was close to a hot spring. He decided it couldn't hurt to relax for a while so he started making his way towards the spring.

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Naruto sighed happily as he settled himself down into the warm water. _'I'll just relax here for a little while and then I'll start my _training' With that thought he sank a little deeper into the springs.

Not five minutes later the calm and relaxing atmosphere was broken by the sound of giggling. Naruto opened his eyes and looked around for the sound but didn't find anything. He shrugged and started relaxing again.

Several giggles later Naruto had enough. He stood up, got dressed and started following the sounds.

A few minutes latter

Naruto calmly walked behind a white haired man dressed in strange clothes. He realized that the man was writing down in a notebook and looking into the women's side of the hotspring.

"You should stop peeping." The white haired man just turned to give him an annoyed stare. He turned back to his peeping and did some dismissive gestures with his hand. "Go away brat mind your own business."

Naruto's eyebrow twitched in annoyance. He calmly took a deep breath……. "THERE'S A PERVERT PEEPING IN THE WOMANS BATH!"

That's what started a chain reaction. The man paled. The women screamed, ran, grabbed pitchforks, knives, axes, torches, bows, arrows, kunai, shuriken, katana swords, and other assorted weapons. They all charged out of the hot springs faster than most ninja could move.

The man screamed in pure terror and started running away. Or at least he tried to run away. Naruto was holding him by the collar of his clothes with a wide evil smile on his face. He then spoke in a sing song voice. "I told you, you should have stopped peeping." He tried to desperately get out of his grip but it proved fruitless. In a last act of desperation he cried out.

"Boy I swear I'll do anything you ask just let me go PLEASE!" Naruto raised his eyebrow while looking at the man rather lazily. "What do you have to offer me pervert?"

"You're a shinobi right? If you let me go I swear I'll help you I've learned many things and I can teach you a lot." Naruto thought about it for a moment before he replied. "Fine meet me back here when you've escaped." Naruto released him and the man took off running like the devil himself was on his heels. And he probably would have preferred if that was the truth.

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Thirty minutes later.

"Hmm I see so you focus chakra in your arm and increase the electrons in the atmosphere using your chakra." Naruto mumbled to himself while reading the scroll.

The rustle of bushes brought him out of his thoughts. He turned around and noticed the white haired man staggering out of the forest. He was a mess. His clothes were ripped he was bleeding his hair looked like it had gotten in a fight with a raccoon. Naruto arched an eyebrow. "I take it they caught you?"

The white haired man raised one hand and promptly fell flat on his face. Naruto looked at his limp form for several seconds before standing up, walking over to him and proceeded to poke him with a stick. "Hey buddy…you alive?"

Several pokings latter.

Naruto continued poking the strange man that claimed to know ninja techniques. "Who the hell are you anyway?" Then with a speed that scared Naruto the strange man was back on his feet without a single scratch on him, his clothes were no longer ripped and he wasn't bleeding anymore.

Naruto stared amazed at the strange development. Sudenly the strange man took a pose and started doing some strange dance. "I am the great Jiraiya, the almighty holy gamasennin. And the great author of the…"

"Wait wait wait! Your Jiraiya? The same Jiraiya that's supposed to guard Sarutobi during the Chuunin exam?" Naruto asked waving his hands in front of him.

Jiraiya's eyes widened in surprise "Wait your that kid that's been tipping us off?" At Naruto's nod Jiraiya broke out into a wide grin. "Well I think I might be able to teach you a few things. Do you have a summoning contract?"

Naruto nodded again, "Well which one is it?"

"Foxes" Jiraiya very nearly had a heart attack at the boy's declaration. The only person who he ever saw summoning foxes was Arashi's wife. "What was your name again?" He asked slowly.

"Uzumaki Naruto." Naruto replied raising an eyebrow. The man was acting as if he was some sort of weird experiment.

'_Hmm I thought it was him. I wonder if he knows about his heritage?' _Jiraiya mused to himself silently. "Well brat since you've already got a contract I assume you know how to use it."

At this Naruto scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "I was given the contract but I never used it. Never had any need for it really" Jiraiya jaw hit the floor. He sighed and slapped his forehead in frustration.

Meanwhile Kyuubi was having a fit. **"YOU DON'T KNOW HOW TO DO WHAT? YOU LITTE BASTARD I THOUGHT YOU KNEW THAT."**

"_Hey I left the forest and Kurou gave me the contract I thought you'd teach me how to use it once you felt I was ready."_

"**DON'T TRY TO PIN THIS ON ME BRAT! YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO KNOW THIS ALLREADY."**

"Un-frekin-believeable! You have a summoning contract and you've never used it." He looked at Naruto with irritation on his face. "All right brat let me show you the hand seals and we'll get started."

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After several hours of training Naruto was able to summon a decent sized fox. But he still kept wasting too much chakra on it. He did a couple of more hours of Chakra control training and then started practicing the Chidori. As expected it was a difficult technique to learn but it was possible.

At the end of the day he was pretty tired. He hauled himself over to Ichiraku ramen and after that he headed home.

Little did he know of the events occurring at the other side of the village.

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Kin lazily wandered through the hotel that her and her team were staying at. The hospital had finally released her an hour earlier. Even though her mid section still hurt it was bearable.

She was just about to open the door to where her team was staying when she suddenly heard voices coming from the room. She leaned in and started to listen.

"Orochimaru-sama is it true that Kabuto-dono was killed earlier?" Came the voice of the first.

"Yes Kimimaro it is true." Orochimaru replied with a great deal of anger and malice in his voice. "But this changes nothing we will continue with the plan to destroy the leaf village despite his death."

"As you wish Orochimaru-sama…but might I be so bold to ask…Why are you waiting here sir?"

"Mind your place Kimimaro. I am waiting for that Kin girl."

Kin's heart skipped several beats _'Orochimaru-sama is waiting for me but why?"_

"Will she be the next sacrifice my lord?"

Kin stifled a gasp. _'What does he mean sacrifice?'_

"Yes Kimimaro she will. I've already taken Zaku. All I must do is wait for Kin to arrive and then we can leave."

There was a sound outside the door. Kimimaro turned and walked out the door and looked around. He found no one and turned back into the room closing the door behind him. Kin sighed in relief as Kimimaro closed the door. She silently dropped down from the ceiling and sprinted out the hotel.

She ran several blocks before she finallycame to a stop. She leaned against a building panting. "Okay Kin think! What do you do now?" light bulb suddenly went on in her head. She rummaged through her pockets and found the note Naruto gave her earlier.

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Naruto was awoken from his slumber at the sound of someone banging on his front door. He groaned and looked to his alarm clock.

1:52 am

He blinked several times.

"You cant be serious." He groaned and rolled out of his bed walking towards the door. He opened the door so fast it nearly came off its hinges. "There had better be some sort of war going on for whoever you are to have woken me up! Because if there isn't I swear there's gonna be hell to pay."

His eyes came into focus and noticed who was standing at the door. "Kin? What are you doing here?"

Kin was leaning against one of the support beams panting hard. "I need your help."

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"I see so Orochimaru is using sacrifices" Sarutobi leaned back in his chair taking a long drawl of his pipe. Naruto and the sound Gennin had come into his office earlier and told him of the whole story.

Sarutobi had been reluctant to believe her at first but with Naruto's ability to tell if the girl was lying he had agreed to hear her out.

"I don't know many jutsu's that require sacrifices but those that I do know of are indeed powerful and forbidden. I will do some reaserch so I may better prepare for the fight that Orochimaru plans. Young lady!"

"Yes?" Kin replied hastily not wanting to get on the old man's bad side.

"We will be keeping you on lockdown until this entire situation blows over. We do not want Orochimaru to believe we have found out about his plan. You wont be seen outside until after the chuunin exam. Afterwards if you wish you could be granted shinobi status. You have one month to think about it dismissed."

With that two Anbu puffed into existence. "Please follow us." Kin nodded and followed the two anbu out of the office.

When they were gone Naruto turned back to the Hokage. "What do you think the snakes planning to do with sacrifices?"

"I'm not sure Naruto but don't worry. I'll soon find out."

Naruto nodded and started walking out of the office back to his house and his well deserved sleep.

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Nothing but a short filler in this chap.

Hopefully the next chap I'll be able to cramp in the whole Chuunin exam.

Anyway read and review please?


	19. The attack begins

Well as usual here's the new chap enjoy.

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Naruto arrived at the stadium where the chuunin exams were being held. He lazily walked in while checking the as many chakra signatures as he could. He could tell that the whole area was completely packed with jounins in key areas where the stadium was most vulnerable.

He began making his way to the stands when he caught sight of Gaara. He walked right next to him and looked down to the arena floor where the preparations where still being made.

Gaara also remained looking elsewhere.

They stood in silence until Naruto spoke.

"Are you ready?" He asked still looking away.

"Always brother. But remember don't hold back…got it?"

Naruto absently nodded "My fight starts soon. When the attack begins get out of the arena and into the forest I'll meet you there."

With that Naruto started walking down to the arena. Gaara stayed put and watched all of the Anbu he could tell weren't from Konoha for any sign that the battle was going to commence.

He looked to his right and noticed the girl he had fought against during the Chuunin preliminary exams.

'_Ah, the weapon mistress…I believe her name was Ten Ten.'_

Gaara could not understand for the life of him why his legs had started moving toward the aforementioned Ten Ten.

He approached the girl who still hadn't noticed him since she was looking towards the Arena anxiously awaiting the fight.

"Hello." At the sound of his voice Tenten jumped a little. She looked to her right and recognized the figure as 'Hoodie' as Tenten had nicknamed him since the fight. She smiled brightly and greeted him. "Hi"

Gaara nodded and motioned to the empty seat next to her. "May I sit?" Tenten looked a little surprised but after a second smiled warmly and nodded.

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Meanwhile two sand shinobi were hiding in the shadows observing the strange phenomenon that was now known as Gaara socializing.

The first shinobi leaned in to the other. "Hey what do you think he's doing?"

"I think he's……talking with her."

"Why would he do that?"

"How should I know?" There was a pause. "Maybe he likes her."

"Wait wait wait hold on……this is GAARA were talking about. GAARA! As in the 'I do not socialize with people I kill them with my desert coffin and sand spear' Gaara."

"Stop yelling you idiot! He might hear you."

"Please……he's fifty feet away how can he possibly…" The shinobi was cut off as sand started forming at their feet making a message. It read…

'_My ears aren't for decoration fool…'_

The two sand shinoni looked at the sand for a few seconds before they both thought the exact same thing.

'_Shit'_

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Gaara and Tenten were sitting in a sort of awkward silence before Tenten finally broke it. "Soooo who are you going to fight?" Gaara answered in his normal emotionless voice. "I'm going to fight the sound gennin."

Tenten nodded and they once again fell into silence. Tenten shifted a bit in her seat. She kept on darting her eyes towards Gaara's hood and quickly looking away. _'Oh brother it's not like he's gonna kill me for it.'_

With a speed that surprised Gaara Tenten's hand shot out like a snake and pushed his hood back and took hold of his ear and proceeded to pet and rub the sandy ears letting out a sigh of contentment.

Gaara twitched in annoyance "Could you please stop that." He asked annoyed. Why did every woman who saw his ears (Which was only Temari and Tenten so far) had to make a bee line clear across the room and start petting them.

It wasn't all that annoying really but an animals ears were one of the most sensitive parts of their body so when Tenten or Temari petted his ears it really did feel good but it was still humiliating beyond belief when they were in public.

He heard Shukaku give a soft sound of contentment and that he deemed as the last straw. He formed sand and gently pulled Tenten's hand away from his ears "Will you please refrain from doing that in the future."

Tenten smiled brightly and turned to him "But your ears are just so cute Hoodie"

Gaara's eyebrow twitched _'She did not just call me 'hoodie' and I most certainly did not hear her call me CUTE' _Shukaku meanwhile was laughing his ass off inside of the mind of his tenant.

"**I think she likes you brat." **He snickered_'Shukaku I sear just one more---WAIT,WAIT,WAIT…She does not like me!'_ Hepractically yelled in his mind. **"Sure she does brat. Besides you have to admit she does look good. She's pretty well endowed for a thirteen year old. I bet you just wanna---"**

And that was when Gaara promptly cut off the conversation with his inner demon and focused on the surrounding environment. Trying desperately to hide the light blush on his cheeks.

"OH look Hoodie the fights starting!" Tenten exclaimed leaning in to get a better view.

Gaara twitched again at the nickname. "My name is Gaara. Gaa-ra! Its not that difficult to remember. So stop using that ridiculous nickname!" He said with annoyance in his voice.

Tenten defiantly crossed her arms infront of her chest and 'humpfed'. "No! I like it I'm keeping it."

Gaara tried to give his 'I will kill you with my sand if you do not listen to me' glare but Tenten seemed immune to the technique and merely stuck out her tongue out playfully while laughing lightly.

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Meanwhile two sand Shinobi's observed the scene completely flabbergasted. The girl had survived Gaara's glare completely unaffected. And not only that she called him CUTE! No one ever called Gaara CUTE! It didn't matter who it was.

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"The first fight is Naruto Uzumaki vs. Neji Hyuuga."

As the two took up their fighting stances, Neji had an air of superiority around him and said "I read your academy records during the month we had free, you graduated with the lowest scores meaning that you are a dead last and a dead last has no hope of beating me." Neji expected Naruto to get angry and charge at him. But Naruto merely stared coldly at the hyuuga. His gold eyes shining in the sunlight making Neji feel as if he was staring right through him.

Naruto cracked his neck and his knuckles and took a relaxed fighting stance. "You know where you can stick that load of bullshit you were talking about right?" Neji got angry at this and charged. He thrust his right arm out and struck Naruto in the stomach. Poof. Naruto turned into a log and from a tree to Neji's left threw seven shuriken. He performed the necessary seals and shouted "Shuriken Shadow Clone no Jutsu." The seven shuriken multiplied into seventy. Neji, seeing that there was no way to dodge began to emit chakra from all of his tenkutsu. "Heavenly Spin" he cried out as he began to spin, creating a shield of chakra that deflected the projectiles. As he stopped spinning, two members of the audience were in shock.

"Father isn't that-"

"Yes, that was my Heavenly Spin" replied Hiashi Hyuuga to his daughter Hanabi. _"Impressive Neji, most impressive indeed"_ he thought with a bit of pride.

Down in the arena Neji was slightly upset about having to reveal one of his trump cards that early, but he wasn't worried. "It is your destiny to lose. You will never penetrate my defense" the Hyuuga said confidently and positioned himself in the Juken stance again.

Neji waited for Naruto to make the first move. He blinked and Naruto had vanished. Neji's eyes widened in surprise. But before he could move Naruto swiftly kicked him in his stomach sending him flying. Naruto reappeared right next to neji while still in mid air and kicked him on his back sending him higher into the air.

Naruto reappeared again and kicked neji in the ribs. After that he grabbed Neji by his ankle and threw him back down to the earth as hard as he could. Neji rocketed back down to earth at a fast speed. When he hit the ground the impact sent dust and debris flying everywhere.

Naruto landed gracefully on his feet and calmly walked over to the crater. When the dust cleared there was nothing but a stone inside the crater.

Neji's voice pierced the air behind Naruto. "Did you really think it would be that easy dead-last. I am fated to win this fight." Neji took his fighting stance again. It is over you are within my field of divination."

Many of the Hyuuga's in the crowd gasped at the declaration. Neji expected for Naruto to ask what he was talking about but Naruto just straightened his posture and looked up to the sky. "This fight is far from over Hyuuga."

Neji narrowed his eyes in anger and charged at Naruto intent on striking his tenketsu.

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Tenten leaned back in her chair and sighed. "Oh well I guess its over no one can stay in a fight after their tenketsus are sealed." Gaara shook his head with an all knowing smile on his lips. "Never underestimate Naruto he will win this fight even if he's got to face down a sannin to do it."

Tenten turned to him with a raised eyebrow. "You sound pretty sure of yourself there. Care to put your money where your mouth is?" She asked with the utmost confidence in herself. Gaara turned to her with a raised eyebrow of his own, his eyes showed his amusement.

"Very well. What do you get if I lose and what do I get if I win?"

"Wait! Your not gonna choose your prise?"

Gaara shook his head nd shrugged with his shoulders. "I'm not good at these things so I'll let you choose."

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Neji charged at Naruto and proceeded to seal his tenketsu. But after a while he realized to his horror that Naruto's tenketsu's were still open and his chakra kept turning white every time he struck a tenketsu.

It didn't take long to realize why. Through the Byakuugan Neji discovered that every time he moved to hit a tenketsu a white feather would appear between his strike and the intended target at the very last minute.

With a leap he jumped back several yards from Naruto while reverently trying to find a new way to attack him. "You cannot beat me fate will not allow it."

"What is fate exactly" inquired Naruto.

"Fate is a predetermined course of events we have no choice but to follow. Everything we do is already decided by fate."

Naruto shook his head. "Fate isn't real, it's just something people make up to blame their misfortunes on when they can't blame anybody else. Only cowards such as you cling to the concept of fate because they are far too afraid to reach out and grab life's obstacles by force and breaking through them."

Neji's anger skyrocketed. He ripped off his forehead protector showing off the seal for all to see. "This is the Hyuuga branch family's cursed fate of hatred. We are forever bound to serve the main family as their slaves. This is my fate. It is as unchangeable as yours is."

Naruto started laughing in a hollow voice that sent chills down the spine of all who heard it. "So Neji you draw all of your strength from your so called fate is that what your saying? You rely on the power of otherworldly creatures to get you through your fights. Is that it?"

Neji narrowed his eyes at Naruto. "I rely on my own strength and my strength alone."

Naruto laughed some more. "Then you are no match for me."

Neji's anger got the better of him and he lashed out at Naruto once again. Aiming his strike at Naruto's heart. At the last minute Naruto caught his wrist and broke it. He yanked him forward by his arm and kneed him in the stomach. When Neji kneeled over in pain Naruto raised his other hand and slammed his elbow on the back of Neji's head sending him to the floor.

Naruto then moved and grabbed Neji by the back of his collar and jacket. He started spinning and threw Neji toward the wall. Neji managed to regain his senses during mid flight and flipped in mid air. He landed on the wall and quickly got back down to the floor.

He looked back just in time to see Naruto lunge at him. He immediately began spinning. "KAITEN" He yelled as the chakra formed around him. Naruto jumped back and held out his hand. A fireball the size of a small base ball appeared in his hand. As Neji stopped spinning Naruto charged at him again.

Neji seeing him charge started spinning again.

The two techniques clashed and with a large explosion that shook the whole arena.

When the dust cleared Naruto stood infront of the Hyuuga's battered and beaten form. "Fate doesn't exist Neji. But I promise that the day I have the power I will free you and the rest of your clan from the foolish chains that bind you to a life of servitude.

And with that Naruto walked away from the boy.

Hyuuga Hiashi heard Naruto's declaration and his lips quirked in a smile. _'Lets see if you fulfill your promise Uzumaki._

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Tenten watched Neji get his ass kicked with her mouth attached to the floor. In a flash she closed it and looked back at Gaara, who had the biggest smirk plastered on his face. He turned to face her with his smirk growing even wider. "Well……it looks like I won the bet Tenten-san. What would be my reward?" He asked with no small amount of amusement in his voice.

Tenten narrowed her eyes at him. She put a finger to her chin and thought for a moment before smiling with a mischievous glint in her eye. Gaara saw this and raised a delicate eyebrow in question. "Your reward is……this!" Before Gaara could react Tenten moved in and gave him a soft peck on the cheek.

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Two sand Shinobi in the shadows had just had major heart attacks and had gone into shock.

"It…but…Gaa…she…how…I…help me" One stammered out while the other stood completely frozen.

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Gaara meanwhile had just gone in a state of semi shock while Shukaku was howling with laughter in his mind.

Meanwhile Tenten was enjoying her victory and was now happily rubbing Gaara's ears without a care in the world.

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"Will Uchiha Sasuke and Aburame Shino please come down to the stadium." The referee announced while looking around for the two.

Shino calmly walked down to the arena and Naruto smirked a he felt three familiar chakra signatures approaching at a fast speed. In a massive swirl of leaves Kakashi Sasuke and Sakura appeared in the middle of the Arena.

"Oyaho everyone! Are we late?" Kakashi greeted cheerfully. The ref smiled a little "Nah Kakashi your………right……on……time."

Suddenly every jounin in the Arena surrounded Kakashi and pressed Kunai's swords and other assorted weapons to his neck. Kakashi sweat dropped a little. "Ehehehe, something wrong?" He asked nervously.

Gai answered him. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY ETERNAL RIVAL? HE NEVER ARIVES EARLY FOR ANYTHING! MEANING YOU MUST BE AN IMPOSTOR! BY THE FLAMES OF YOUTH I WILL MAKE YOU TELL US WHAT YOU HAVE DONE TO MY GREAT ETERNAL RIVAL KAKASHI!"

Kakashi sweat dropped, Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura proceeded to laugh their asses off and the rest of the crowd started telling them to start the fights again.

After the confusion was cleared up by Naruto Sasuke and Sakura who had managed to stop laughing enough to breath out that it was the real Kakashi the fights started again.

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Sasuke and Shino stood in the middle of the arena. Each waiting for the other to make a move.

Sasuke was the first. He took out two Kunai from his sleeves and threw them at Shino. The bug user swerved to the side and thrust one hand forward towards Sasuke. His sleeve opened and a swarm of wasp like Kikai bugs came out of his sleeves and headed straight for Sasuke.

The sharingan user rapidly did a familiar set of hand seals and cried out. **"Katon Gokakyuu no jutsu" **A large stream of fire came from his mouth and burnt the bugs to ash. When the flames cleared Shino was nowhere to be found.

Sasuke's eye's widened in alarm. He quickly looked around but no matter where he looked he couldn't find Shino anywhere. Sudenly the ground behind him exploded revealing the bug user. "Right here." He spoke emotionlessly.

He tried to hit Sasuke in the head with a kick but the Uchiha ducked under it and delivered a sweep kick to Shino's other leg causing him to fall. Sasuke got to his feet and threw a kunai at the bug user stabbing him in the shoulder. Sasuke smirked but his smirk quickly disappeared as he heard Shino's next words.

"Never assume victory." With that Shino exploded into hundreds of Kikai bugs that got all over Sasuke. The Uchiha knew this was bad. _'Okay okay don't panic…think what do bugs hate?'_

A thought occurred to him and he quickly made the familiar seals. **"Katon Gokakyuu no jutsu" **He breathed out another stream of fire. Pushing enough chakra into it to make the flames burn for about thirty seconds. He ran right at the fire and jumped through it fast enough not to get burnt. But it had the desired effect. The Kkikai bugs had detached themselves from his skin as they came close to the flames.

Sasuke smirked at his little victory. But it was short lived as he saw hundreds of Kikai bugs flying towards him. here had to be at least five hundred flying towards him. He quickly drew a kunai with an exploding tag attached to it.

He threw it and immediately yelled out. **"Kage Shuriken no jutsu." **What was one Kunai became hundreds. Sasuke had put enough chakra into the tag so it would explode shortly after being thrown.

The Kunai made it to the very center of the swarm before they all exploded destroying the swarm almost completely.

Shino gritted his teeth in slight anger. He expected Sasuke to use the Gokakyuu again. He hadn't taken into account the exploding tags since he didn't think Sasuke knew the Shuriken Kage bunshin. The Gokakyuu would have taken up much of Sasuke's chakra to destroy the whole swarm. Which in turn would make him feel tired giving an advantage.

But now he had wasted more chakra then Sasuke and that wasn't good.

Sasuke used the dust and smoke the explosions had caused and got in close. He jumped out of the smoke practically pouncing on the bug user. Shino immediately brought up his arm and bugs shot out of his sleeve. When the bugs hit Sasuke, Shino was surprised when the Uchiha turned into a log.

'_Kawarimi? But when did he---" _His thoughts were cut off as he suddenly felt wires wrap around him and pin him to the wall of the arena. He looked back and found Sasuke holding the wires in his hands looking as if he was going to do a fire Jutsu.

"Surender or I'll destroy you." Shino thought if there was anything he could do to escape but he couldn't think of anything he sighed. "I surrender."

Cheers erupted from the crowd and Sasuke released Shino and then wordlessly waked back to where the other teams were waiting for him.

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Sasuke walked over to his teammates and smirked as he laid eyes on Naruto. Naruto caught this and smirked right back. "Hey Sasuke…you got stronger I see." Sasuke's smirk still remained in place. "Damn right I would like to test myself against you eventually."

Naruto nodded and smiled as he said. "Sorry Sasuke but incase you forgot the incident will begin soon so we cant waste too much chakra." Sasuke suddenly remembered about the attack that Gaara had informed them about and slapped his forehead in frustration.

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"Will Sabaku no Gaara and Dosu come to the arena floor please?

Gaara disappeared in a swirl of sand and reappeared down in the Arena. Leaving a pouting Tenten. Since she had just lost the little sand ears that she was entertaining herself with.

Dosu appeared soon after. The ref saw that both fighters were ready and signaled for the match to begin.

Gaara stood with his arms crossed and waited for the attack to begin. Dosu smirked behind his bandages. _"Heh, his sand blocks all physical attacks but sound isn't physical I'll beat him easily."_

With that thought Dosu charged at Gaara and was surprised when his fist actually landed a solid blow to his face. But his confusion was cleared when Gaara suddenly burst into sand and a massive sand storm picked up all around him. He couldn't even see the croud it was so violent.

Suddenly sand wrapped him from head to toe. "What?" He yelled in surprise. Sudenly Gaara's cold piercing voice cut through the air as he stepped forward holding his spear. "Your life ends today. Know that sound will not succeed in their attempt to destroy Konoha."

Dosu's eye's widened in shock "But your part of sand why would you do this?"

He didn't receive an answer Gaara merely clasped his hand shut and it rained blood.

"**Hey brat what was with the secrecy? You could have just done it without the sandstorm so why?"**

'_I don't know."_

"**Ohhhh, I see you didn't want that Tenten girl to see am I right?"**

'_She has nothing to do with it'_

"**Right." **Shukaku replied rather sarcastically.

Gaara let Dosu's body fall to the ground. He sliced the air with his spear and whispered a few incantations. "May the desert sands swallow his body, soul and memory for all of eternity." The sandstorm picked up and suddenly sand swirled around Dosu's mutilated form and the boy simply vanished.

As the sand storm dissipated everyone was wondering just what had happened to the sand Gennin. When Gaara started to walk away the ref knew that the sound kid wasn't coming back and named Gaara the winner.

As the ref was about to start the next match the people of the Arena started falling asleep.

Gaara recognized this as the signal to start the attack. He turned to Naruto and their eyes locked. Simultaneously they both grew wide smirks and they bolted out to the forest Kankuro and Temari seeing their brother fleeing to the forest immediately ran after him. Sasuke and Sakura saw Naruto running after Gaara and ran after them.

Meanwhile both brothers couldn't suppress the excitement welling up in their guts.

This would certainly be a fight to remember.

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Well here's the new chap hope you like it.


	20. Brothers battle

Well I'm back and I need help.

If anyone knows about the girl that's the Jinchurriki for the two tailed cat. I would like to know her name if anyone knows. I think I heard her name was Yugito but if I'm wrong tell me.

Also all I got was four reviews for the last chap so I'm gonna update when I have at least fifteen reviews for every chapter.

Well that's all.

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Naruto and Gaara rushed past the wall of the Arena and jumped into the treeline. The second the first leaf past them they drew their weapons and began attacking each other while still in mid air.

Narutoried to swing at Gaara. But Gaara put his spear in the way and twisted it in his hand so Naruto's sword would pass him by. He shot his hand forward and sand shot out of his sleeve toward Naruto.

Naruto shot his own hand forward and flames came out of his hand in the form of a dragon and crashed right into the pillar of sand. The dragon dissipated and the sand turned to glass.

Naruto and Gaara kept running through the trees attacking eachother. Their weapons were nothing but blurs. Sparks flew with each clash the weapons had and the ring of metal against metal echoed through the forest.

The two of them shot forward into a clearing and stopped suddenly. They didn't waste a second and continued attacking each other.

Naruto having the sword was able to swing first. He swung at Gaara in a horizontal slash to his chest. Gaara stepped back slightly and the blade passed him by no more than an inch.

Gaara's spear shot forward like lightning. He tried to stab at Naruto's face but the blond used his sword and pushed the spear down. Naruto thrusted forward to Gaara's stomach but Gaara managed to Managed to jump a little to the side while turning himself in a spin after the first spin Gaara used the momentum and the added power it provided and swung straight down on Naruto while adding some chakra to his swing.

Naruto brought his sword up and put his free hand on the blunt side of the sword for extra stability and strength. Gaara's spear hit with such force it sent Naruto skidding back several feet.

Gaara didn't give Naruto a chance to recover and started attacking again. He tried to use the tip of the spear to swing down on Naruto's head. Naruto parried the attack. Gaara used the same motion his parry had caused and twisted the spear in his hands and tried to attack with an upward strike. Naruto jumped back to avoid the attack.

Gaara didn't miss a beat and continued his upward strike and spun the blade in his hand and stabbed it into the earth. He used it like a standing pole and kicked Naruto in the chest with both legs. He used the momentum of his kick and spun on the spear still keeping it perfectly balanced and landed on his feet. He took a fighting stance again and

Naruto couldn't help but smirk at how much he was enjoying his fight.

"Well that was a good warm up..." Gaara said smirking

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Temari, Kankuro, Sakura, and Sasuke, who had managed to arrive half way through the fight were openly gawking at the declaration. They all gulped and spoke at the same time

"That was a warm up?"

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Naruto smirked and threw down his white Kitsune coat. Revealing the leather armor underneath "Allright! Time to get serious then!" Gaara smirked and threw down his own cloak. Revealing his tail and ears.

Both boys started gathering chakra at an alarming rate. Gaara's yellow chakra flared around making the grass beneath him become dry. And sand poured out of the earth. His tail and ears grew longer and his Shukaku eyes started glowing.

Naruto's normal blue chakra turned black and the grass beneath him began dying. Black feathers gathered around him before a black aura surrounded him while a purple aura surrounded his sword. His hair and eyes went black. And a dark mist poured out of his eyes.

They stood in the clearing for a few more seconds before they both vanished in a blur.

They were so fast that not even the Uchiha's Sharingan eyes were able to keep up with them they would reappear for a brief moment vanish then reappear again in a different spot.

Naruto shot forward and tried to swing at Gaara mid run. Gaara blocked the hit But Naruto kept running and past him. Gaara Turned around and jumped back a few times to get more distance between him and Naruto. Naruto skidded a little bit as he came to a halt. He turned around and charged at Gaara again.

Gaara met Naruto's charge with his own and both weapons clashed. The jumped back at the same time and jumped back. They landed on a tree and threw one Kunai each simultaneously at a forty five degree angle.

They jumped with all their might and managed to pass the Kunai's that they threw. They met in mid air again and as they began to fall back down to earth the two Kunai's that they threw hit eachother directly beneath their feet.

Both Naruto and Gaara pushed an exact amount of Chakra into their feet and used the Kunais as small platforms to jump back away from each other. They landed on a tree and jumped back at each other. Gaara swung first. Naruto saw the attack coming and tried to block.

But once again a segment of Gaara's spear transformed into sand. Letting it pass by Naruto's blade and dug deeply in his shoulder. Naruto hissed in pain but Gaara's other hand shot forward and grabbed him roughly by his neck.

He positioned Naruto beneath him and positioned his legs right over Naruto's chest. Then he mustered all his available strength and pushed his legs down right on Naruto's chest, sending him plummeting back to earth.

Naruto moved back down at high speeds. When he was just about ten feet off the ground he swiftly turned around in mid air and extended his arms and legs. He landed with a loud crash. A cloud of dust blanketed the whole field. Gaara landed a few feet away from where Naruto had landed.

When the dust cleared it revealed Naruto crouched down on all fours. He stayed in that position for a few seconds and a couple of snapping, crunching and grinding sounds were heard through the clearing.

The impact had been so great Naruto's right arm broke but because of his demon chakra it quickly healed. Naruto stood up completely unfazed. His black eyes giving him a terrifying visage as they glinted in the light.

Everyone watching had a chill run up their spine. Even Gaara could never get used to this form in all the time he had spent with Naruto.

Gaara did a few short seals and once again a massive sand storm picked up and surrounded Naruto. Naruto lazily stood in the center of the storm and looked at the sky. To anyone else he looked rather insane.

Suddenly a Sand spear shot forward from within the sand. Naruto swiftly turned and blocked it with his sword and the spear disappeared again. Naruto once again looked up o the sky. "Gaara……" His voice was once again hollow and empty. "You underestimate me don't you?"

Suddenly Narut's body glowed and a massive explosion rocked the whole forest. The sand storm instantly turned to glass and Naruto watched as Gaara picked himself out of some debris the explosion had caused.

"Naruto no more games we end this now!" Gaara spoke as Sand wrapped around him.

Naruto waited for a few seconds before the sand that had surrounded Gaara exploded and the massive form of Shukaku rose to the sky.

Naruto showed no outward expression but Temari, Kankuro, Sakura and Sasuke all thought the same thing. _'THAT'S A BIG ASS RACOON'_

Naruto swiftly cut his palm and did his hand seals **"Kuchiose no jutsu!"** Suddenly in a massive puff of smoke a one tailed fifty foot tall fox appeared.

Naruto stood on the Foxes head while Gaara stood on Shukaku's.

"**Hey brat why'd you bring me out I was enjoying the show from my desert with a nice bag of popcorn."**

"Shukaku please!" He said exasperated "You know you wanted to fight just as much as I did." Shukaku silently laughed as he laid eyes on the fox with anticipation in his gold eyes.

Meanwhile the fox and Naruto were having their own conversation.

"**Naruto-sama. My name is Shingen. Please give me my orders." **He responded respectfully. Naruto pointed at Shukaku still in his dark form. The fox instantly recognized his orders and charged at Shukaku.

Shukaku instantly shot out spikes of sand to the fox. The fox swerved from left to right and twisted his body dodging all the sand spikes. He reappeard next to Shukaku and Bit down on his neck. Naruto used the opportunity and jumped on the one tail. He charged at Gaara with all his speed.

Gaara slammed his hands on Shukaku's head and the sand at there feet became quicksand. Gaara was unaffected but Naruto's previous, fast as lightning speed, had slowed down to a crawl. He was now ankle deep in quicksand and was sinking rapidly. He looked back at Gaara, his black aura still hiding his face from view.

Gaara hated the fact that in this for Naruto had less expressions than even him. He could always tell what his opponent thought even a little bit but the fact that he could barely make out Naruto's features up close was a clear indicator that reading his emotions would be near impossible.

Naruto's dark aura started flaring around wildly. After several minutes the chakra flared even more. Then it exploded outward in all direction. The pressure was so great Gaara was having trouble staying in place.

He noticed that the quicksand around Naruto's feet was starting to harden. He suddenly remembered just what happened when Naruto's transformation had touched the floor of the forest. Everything had started aging until it was dead. That was exactly what he was doing now. He was turning the sand into sand stone.

This normally took hundreds perhaps even thousands of years of rock pressure and soil erosion. But Naruto was using his chakra to do it in only a couple of minutes. The amount of chakra consumed was astounding but it was the only way to win.

Sudenly it stopped and Naruto pulled his legs out of the now hardened sandstone. Gaara still stood calmly awaiting his attack. Naruto suddeny vanished in a puff of smoke and Gaara's eyes widened in surprise. _'When did he?" _His thoughts were cut off as Naruto grabbed him roughly by the back of the collar and threw him as hard as he could.

Gaara sailed through the air but he flipped and landed at the very edge of Shukaku's head. He balanced himself on the edge with much difficulty. Shukaku's fight with the wolf wasn't helping much. When he finally regained his balance he turned back just in time to see Naruto lunge at him. His eyes widened in alarm. He dropped onto his back and put his legs to Narutos stomach and used his momentum to push him back.

Unfortunately Naruto was right at the edge of Shukaku's head. He started falling to the forest floor. Gaara turned to watch him fall but as soon as he peeked his head out a kunai with a wire wrapped around it wrapped around his neck. He struggled for a brief moment but a strong yank from Naruto sent him falling to the ground as well.

Both plummeted to the earth Gaara decided that he was gonna end this. He mustered all his strength and shot forward a massive pillar of sand toward Naruto.

Naruto being in mid air couldn't dodge so he gathered chakra to try and prepare for the hit. When it hit he was sent down to the earth with speeds that were almost unheard of. He slammed into the ground making a large crater. His transformation receded and he lost consiousness. But a wide smirk never left his face.

Gaara knew that there was no way he could prepare for the fall. He knew it was gonna hurt but he was pretty sure he would be able to maintain consciousness afterward.

As he plummeted down to the earth his eyes went wide as he saw what awaited him on the forest floor.

Explosive tags lots and lots of explosive tags. _'Naruto must have predicted where I would fall and threw them while he was falling……that son of a' _His thoughts were cut off as the explosive tags went off right as he landed on the forest floor sending him flying right into several trees and into the world of unconsiousness.

Temari Kankuro Sasuke and Sakura fearfully walked out from behind a tree. "Thank god its over." They all sighed at the same time.

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Well I'm done with this chap. Remember to review I wont update until I get at least fifteen reviews in the chap.


	21. The Akatsuki enters

Well here's the new chap hope you all like it.

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It had been a week since the sand/sound invasion. Temari and Kankuro had safely taken Gaara back to Suna. While Naruto was taken back to Konoha.

As for the effects of the attack. Konoha barely had any casualties in military standards. The sand and sound shinobi that attempted to come into the city using the confusion were ambushed by Konoha's Anbu and the shinobi in the stadium were surrounded by the elite jounins and chuunins.

Few were able to escape the massacre. The only true falure in konoha's defenses was the battle between Sarutobi and Orochimaru. Kimimaro had managed to enter the sound barrier and fought against Jiraiya while Sarutobi fought against Orochimaru. Kimimaro was not at Jiriaya's level of skill but he was strong enough to hold him back. After Jiraiya had beaten him he immediately rushed to Sarutobi's side only to find the old man unconscious and Orochimaru ready to deliver the final blow to his former sensei.

Orochimaru retreated when Jiraiya entered the fight but the doctors had reported that Sarutobi was in a deep coma which none of them would be able to get him out of. Seeing that Sarutobi might never recover the council was desperately searching for a new Hokage after Jiraiya had refused the position.

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Jiraiya sat at the top of the Hokage monument staring at the city beneath him. He stared up at the sky deep in thought. _'Sarutobi sensei's in a coma and we need a new Hokage. Why not take down two birds with one stone.' _

With that thought he stood up and walked to the Hokage tower council chambers.

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When he arrived he found every council member furiously arguing with each other. "If Jiraiya-sama wont take the position then we have no choice other than to promote either Hatake Kakashi or Hyuuga Hiashi as the new Hokage of the leaf." One councilmember yelled at the others.

A second council member stood up. "NO Hatake Kakashi may know a great amount of Jutsu but he is nowhere near strong enough to defeat Orochimaru the same goes for Hiashi-sama with all due respect."

The argument continued neither side willing to give in. Hyuuga Hiashi sat down on his seat. Completely stone faced and unmoving. His hands were laced infront of his mouth in a sort of thoughtful look. Sudenly a smirk grew on his face. Jiraiya noticed this and raised an eyebrow in curiosity. Hyuuga Hiashi never, ever showed an open expression unless it was annoyance.

Hihashi slowly stood and the whole room went deathly quiet. Hiashi's smirk only grew as he thought about what he was going to say. "How about………Uzumaki Naruto." The entire council nearly fainted at the declaration. Jiraiya very nearly had a heart attack. That was the last thing anyone expected to hear.

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Up in heaven Kami choked on his glass of water when the words reached his ears.

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Down in hell Satan fainted

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Jiraiya and the rest of the council were openly gawking at Hiashi who's smirk only grew in size.

"A-are you insane Hiashi-sama! We cannot give that demon the authority and respect the title of Hokage brings. It must never happen."

At the council members declaration the whole room erupted in arguments that eventually evolved into the fact that they could now execute the demon with little to no resistance since Sarutobi was unconscious.

Jiraiya and Hiashi had just about enough. "**ENOUGH**" Their command echoed through the walls of the building silencing all of the council members. Jiraiya stepped forward. "If any of you dare to harm my student I will personally join with Orochimaru and bring this place to its knees."

His voice was so calm and cold that no one in the room doubted that he would indeed keep his word.

Hiashi looked across the room to all the council members. "Each and every one of you are nothing but fools. You want a new Hokage and quite frankly he is the only one that can take the title if not either me or Kakashi. Maito Gai while being a strong ninja indeed is far to……eccentric……and specializes far to much in taijutsu almost to the point of barely being above chuunin level in the other areas. But from the rumors and reports Naruto Uzumaki faught the sand demon Shukaku to a straight draw and not only that he is rumored to be even stronger than Hatake." He paused for a moment. "Know that as of today Uzumaki Naruto is under the protection of the Hyuuga clan. If any of this council; harm him then Konoha will lose the protection of the Hyuuga clan."

The council members visibly paled. Jiraiya eyed Hiashi for a few moments wondering why the man was defending Naruto so adamantly.

He decided to ask that question later and addressed the council. "The reason I came here today is because I suggest you name my old teammate Tsunade as the Gondaime Hokage."

"Do you consider us fools Jiraiya? We have already considered that but none of our sources have any information on her whereabouts'."

"Your sources don't but mine do I know almost exactly where she is. I will head out with another in the morning. Good evening." And with that he started walking away but the voice of another council member reached him.

"Jiraiya this is a very important mission so we demand that you take a high ranking jounin or Anbu with you as your companion."

Jiraiya continued walking and spoke before he was fully out of earshot. "I don't take orders from worthless scum like you."

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Jiraiya waited around for the council to leave so he could talk to Hiashi in private. When he caught sight of the man he immediately walked up to him. "Hiashi may I have a word with you?" Hiashi nodded and motioned for Jiraiya to follow him.

A few minutes later they were standing in the Hyuuga training grounds. "Hiashi I came to ask why you defended Naruto so adamantly in the council chambers today."

Hiashi had his back to Jiraiya and was holding a lotus in his hand and looked at it with a thoughtful expression on his face. "I suppose……you could call it……a responsibility I've neglected until now."

Jiraiya raised another eyebrow in question. Hiashi as if sensing his question continued speaking. "I'm sure you of all people know of Naruto's parents." Jiraiya's eyes widened in surprise "Yo-you know?" He stammered out completely caught off guard.

Hiashi turned to him with a small yet sad smile tugging at his lips. "I've known since the day Naruto was born. Both of his father his mother and his…grandfather." Jiraiya's eyes just kept getting bigger and bigger.

"You are wondering why I defended him if I know don't you?" Hiashi paused once again. This time he started at the sky and the silence lasted for five whole minutes.

He finally took a deep breath and began. "Many people do not know this but Arashi and I were the best of friends. When I met Suzume and eventually married her Arashi was my best man. Since our wedding was held within the Hyuuga grounds almost no one knows that fact and those that did all died during Kyuubi's attack. But continuing on, when I began to hear rumors of Arashi dating someone I immediately grew interested.

I asked him about it and after much prodding he eventually told me about Shani. Leaving out that she was a demon of course. Suzume and myself wanted to meet her since Arashi was a very close friend and we eventually did. Suzume and Shani got along almost instantly. We grew closer over the years and when Arashi said that they wanted to get married I was very happy for him. Arashi didn't want the whole village to come to the ceremony so he held it in secret the only people that he invited were myself Suzume Tsunade, Sarutobi and you. You were gone on another mission to gather information on Orochimaru so you didn't come."

Jiraiya's eyes widened as recognition entered them. "After we found out that Shani was pregnant Suzume almost dragged me out of the Hyuuga house to visit her. We visited frequently and during one of those visits we found Shani in a half demon form since she wasn't expecting us and that was when we found out the truth about her. We didn't mind much and our friendship continued without any changes other than Shani would show us her true form every now and then.

When Kyuubi finally attacked Suzume was only a few months pregnant with Hinata but Shani was practically on the hospital bed with Naruto. After Arashi came back bloody and beaten he told me of the only way to stop the Kyuubi. While Shani gave birth Arasi and I designed the seal. When we were done Arashi went off alone for a while and that was the last I saw of him and Shani."

Jiraiya looked away feeling slightly guilty that he wasn't there when the attack happened. After another few seconds of silence Hiashi continued. "Right after the sealing I attempted to find Arashi's body but he had just vanished. I searched for hours but found nothing. I went back to the Hospital to tell Shani the bad news but she too had vanished. I searched for her as well and once again found nothing. I went to the Hokage tower to ask Sarutobi for assistance but when I got there he merely stood and handed me a letter. I remember it read.

_Hiashi and Suzume I am sorry I didn't tell you this sooner but time is short and I just found out about it from Shani. I cannot seal the demon on my own power Shani will have to help me…this will mean both of our deaths and our son Naruto will have to be left alone in this world. No one but you, Sarutobi and Jiraiya know this but the demon that attacked Konoha was Naruto's grandfather. I know this is a shock to you but please understand that we believe he was put under some form of jutsu that drove him insane. I have met him personally and have found him not to hold any aggression towards humans._

_I would like to name you and Suzume Naruto's God parents. I understand this is a lot to take in at once but you are the only people I will trust him with._

_I must go now please consider this Hiashi I understand you fear the Kyuubi but know that not even the Kyuubi is at fault._

_I'll see you in the next world._

_Arashi_

Hiashi turned back to Jiraiya who was staring at him with his eyes and mouth wide open in shock.

Hiashi took another deep breath and continued. "It didn't take me long to look past the fact that Kyuubi attacked Konoha and both I and Suzume were ready to adopt him into the clan but…things never seem to go as planned."

"The Hyuuga council" Jiraiya answered narrowing his eyes.

Hiashi nodded as well. "Yes the Hyuuga elder council would hear nothing of it. While I can almost always over rule the Hyuuga council since none of them can ever really agree completely on something this one time they all flat out stated and I quote 'We will never allow that spawn of hell into our noble clan' I was powerless. Finally one week became a month a month became a year and a year became two and so on and so fourth. By his sixth year I finally gave up.

Unlike most I was able to see past that mask of happiness and I could see the intelligence beneath. I knew that if I just came up to him after six years the boy would think that I had some ulterior motive even though he wouldn't show it.

After I saw him in the Chuunin exams I knew that he would become even greater than his father. I will no longer cower from the Council members. Uzumaki Naruto has the full support of this Hyuuga Hiashi." And with that the elder Hyuuga walked away leaving behind a stunned Jiraiya.

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Naruto and the rest of team seven waited for their Jounin sensei. They had been sitting around since 7:00 am and it was now 10:59 so all they had to do was wait about another minute and

Poof

"Hi guy's sorry I'm late but I had to help an old lady across the street."

Naruto Sakura and Sasuke all twitched in annoyance all they needed was for another stupid comment or for him to take out that stupid Icha Icha book of his and they would make sure he wouldn't be able to make children ever again.

"Well training is cancelled for today so you can all go home now." The children were just about to pounce on him and tear him limb from useless limb but just then a man with long white hair poofed right infront of them.

"HEY BRAT WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?" Jiraiya yelled looking around Naruto silently snuck next to him and proceeded to yell into the sannins ear as loud as his powerful lungs could muster. "RIGHT HERE EROSENNIN!"

The sannin's ears nearly started bleeding at the volume. But he quickly got over his surprise and proceeded to beat the living crap out of Naruto's head. He screamed inchoherenses but the team eventually managed to catch a few of the occasional insults that came out of the Sannins mouth.

After the little argument Jiraiya callmed down enough to form a choherent sentence and addressed Kakashi. "I'll be taking the brat with me to go find the next Hokage so he wont be able to take any training courses until we get back."

With that Jiraiya grabbed Naruto and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

The rest of team seven blinked several times at the spot the two had previously occupied. "Oooookkkkaaaaaaayyyyy…………" Kakashi said slowly. But then his acute senses caught a very familiar chakra signature. _'What? Why on earth would he show up here now after all this time.'_

He turned back to his students with a sheepish grin on his face. "I originally thought that Naruto would help train you since he would be here but seeing as he wont be able to I want for Sasuke to work on building up both your control and chakra capacity so you can do the Chidori more than three times and I want you Sakura to work on your Chakra capacity and to learn these Chuunin level Genjutsu." With that he threw her a scroll and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

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Meanwhile a certain snake sat in his lair thinking. "Kimimaro!" He yelled into the dark hallways and instantly Kimimaro appeared bowed down before his master.

"Yes Orochimaru-sama?"

"We are moving to find Tsunade be prepared in an hour."

"My lord may I ask why?"

"Konoha needs a new Hokage and there is only one person that could possibly heal Sarutobi-sensei. We will find her and kill her."

Kimimaro bowed his head a little lower. "As you wish my lord"

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Sakura and Sasuke sat at a familiar Ramen restaurant when suddenly another person entered. Sasuke and Sakura almost choked on their ramen in surprise.

Standing inside the Ramen stand was none other than Tsuchi Kin. Sasuke and Sakura immediately stood and their hands gripped their Kunai. "What are you doing here?" Kin turned to the eerily familiar voices and found Sasuke and Sakura standing there.

She was a little scared since Naruto wasn't with them and he was the only one that could confirm her story. But she merely pointed at her new leaf forehead protector tied to her thigh. "I defected from sound with Naruto's help. I'm a leaf shinobi now."

"How do we know that's true?" Sasuke asked still a little apprehensive. Kin sighed and waved her hand dissmisively. "You don't but you can ask Naruto next time you see him. By the way how did your sensei get so messed up?"

Both Sakura and Sasuke gave her supprised looks. "What do you mean?" They asked at the same time. Kin blinked a couple of times. "You mean you don't know? I was walking down the street when a Jounin with green spandex rushed passed me with the coppy cat on his back. I heard from a few people that the coppy ninja was your sensei so I thought you would know."

Sakura and Sasuke traded glances and as one they walked out of the Ramen stand. And Kin found herself following them while her inner self was begging her to stay at the stand and just enjoy a nice hot bowl of Ramen and go back to where the Hokage had assigned as her temporary home to train and get some sleep. But for the life of her she could not stop the mechanisms that were known as her feet.

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Naruto found himself in a hotel room staring daggers at the water ball currently in his hand. On the way Jiraiya had offered to teach him the Rasengan but of course the old pervert only showed him the damn thing once and then asked him to try it.

So here he was trying to figure the damn thing out. He was so pissed he didn't notice the large chakra signatures outside his door as they knocked. He walked over to the door completely oblivious to the danger on the other side.

He opened the door and saw a guy that looked like a shark and another one that looked almost exactly like Sasuke.

"Uzumaki Naruto." Said the Sasuke look alike in an emotionless voice before continuing. "You are to co---" He was interrupted as Naruto lazily waved a hand dismissively.

"Yeah, yeah whatever, why don't you wait for that perverted lecher to get back here and you can ask him all the questions you've got I'm sure he'll answer them."

And with that he closed the door in their faces. The Sasuke look alike remained expressionless while the shark like guy twitched in annoyance. But he calmly raised his hand and knocked/banged on the door.

The door cracked open just enough for Naruto's hand to poke through and attach a 'Do Not Disturb' sign on it.

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Meanwhile after Naruto had closed the door it finally dawned on him who these people were from a discussion he had with Jiraiya on his way here.

'_They wear black cloaks with red clouds. It consists of nine powerful S class missing nins that hunt down Jinchuriki. Only known members are Uchiha Itachi and his partner Kisame. _

Naruto immediately thought one simple thing. _'Crap'_

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Both Akatsuki members blinked several times before Kisame took a breath and spoke.

"Did he just do what I think he did?"

"Yes" The Uchiha replied emotionlessly.

Kisame blinked for several moments until he suddenly exploded.

"OOOHHHH HELL NO!" With that he lifted his leg and kicked the door so hard it became tiny little splinters. Kisame walked into the room followed closely by Itachi only to find the window open and the room empty.

Both silently walked to the window. "He must have run."

"Indeed"

Suddenly Naruto jumped down and landed in a crouch directly behind Kisame. Kisame turns his head around with a look of shock plastered on his face. He sees Naruto with a cruel and malicious smirk plastered on his face and his hands in the tiger seal.

'_A fire jutsu HA my Samaheda will eat that chakra before it even singes my cloak' _Samaheda was strapped to his back so he made no motion to turn around.

Itachi however recognized instantly what Naruto was going to attempt. _'He wouldn't dare……would he?'_ Even Itachi didn't have the balls for that kind of attempt he'd sooner try to survive Amateratsu's black flames.

Naruto's sick and twisted grin only grew and his gold eyes glinted dangerously in the light. He rushed forward and then suddenly………..

"**ONE THOUSAND YEARS OF DEATH!" **

Suddenly all time stopped. Birds stopped chirping, rivers stopped flowing, lightning hit a tree and did not damage it and the clouds suddenly ran away.

Sudenly time started moving again and Kisame shot forward letting out an agonizing scream.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH"

It was heard through out the whole of fire country.

Naruto started rolling on the floor laughing his ass off while clutching his sides and gasping for breath. Itachi was openly gaping at the sight. He blinked for several seconds, his mouth still hanging open. Before he too started laughing so hard he had to lean on the wall for support.

Their laughter ended abruptly as a large shadow covered them. They looked up…

And there they found Kisame standing atop of the largest most powerful water dragon anyone had ever seen. It stood higher than Gamabunta.

"ALL RIGHT! NOW I'M PISSED!" They heard before the dragon charged at them. Itachi and Naruto looked at eachother. They looked at the dragon. They looked back at each other.

Naruto stood and turned around. Itachi did the same.

And then as one they both proceeded to run as fast and as far as they possibly could.

The dragon slammed into the building and the wave of water that washed up blanketed the whole village. Kisame landed on the watter and looked around frantically for Naruto. He didn't care about the mission anymore the only thought that was going through his mind were two very simple words.

_**KILL BLOND**_

He found Naruto standing on a nearby roof top with his sword already drawn. Itachi walked up behind him with the smile still tugging at his lips.

Kisame started to move forward but stopped as Naruto's hair turned white and white feathers gathered around him and his sword cracked and shattered revealing a blade of light.

Itachi narrowed his eyes as he saw the transformation. He was about to restrain Kisame when the sound of a thousand birds reached his ears. He turned around and found Sasuke coming straight at him with the chidori already blazing in his hand.

Itachi barely had enough time to react and swerve out of the way. He underestimated the amount of power that Sasuke had in the Chidori and so the technique was able to burn his shoulder. The pain was more of an annoyance than anything else. He swiftly drew his sword and brought it down on Sasuke…intent on ending his annoying brothers life.

But before the attack hit white feathers appeared out of nowhere and Sasuke vanished. Itachi's eye's widened slightly in alarm. He had the sharingan activated so he should have been able to see him move even if he used Kawarimi.

He turned back and found Sasuke standing next to Naruto. He growled in a little annoyance.

"Calm yourself Sasuke you are not yet strong enough to face him and neither am I we need to find Jiraiya." Sasuke barely registered Naruto's words in his mind as he staed at Itachi with pure hate radiating off him in waves. The only reason he hadn't struck out again was because of Naruto's calming aura that surrounded him at this moment.

Right on cue said pervert crashed through the side of a building holding an unconscious female. "Behold! I am the great and mighty Toad sannin Ji---"

"Your late" Naruto deadpanned interrupting Jiraiya mid rant. Jiraiya glared at him from the corner of his eyes.

Itachi narrowed his eyes. He had hopped to get Naruto before Jiraiya arrived but the boy was much stronger than they had predicted. Possibly jounin level. From the power his brother had placed in the Chidori he could tell that he was at least high chuunin. And Kisame fighting against a Jounin level with unknown abilities and a chuunin assistance might cause trouble since he wouldn't know what Naruto could throw at him. Itachi had personally never heard of any technique that involved white feathers.

"Kisame we leave." He stated simply Kisame still looked like he wanted Naruto's blood but he reluctantly nodded and they both vanished in puffs of smoke.

Sasuke stepped forward and Naruto transformed back into his normal state. Just then two girls rounded the corner panting hard. The second Sasuke had heard about Itachi he bolted and Sakura followed him and dragged Kin along with her.

Naruto looked at them and raised a curious eyebrow. "What are you doing here?" He asked

Sakura responded between pants "We-thought-you-might-need-help." Naruto smiled brightly "Nah the fights over already."

"WHAT!" Kin screached at the top of her lungs she turned her angry glare on Sakura who was trying to discreetly step away from the black haired girl. "YOU DRAGED ME THIRTY SIX MILES THROUGH THE FOREST FOR NOTHING!" Sakura shakily backed away while holding her hands infront of her. "Now now Kin they might have needed our help and you owe Naruto remember?"

Kin did owe Naruto and indeed she remembered but right now she was way too pissed to care.

Naruto laughed loudly as he watched Kin chew Sakura out. He shook his head and adressed Sasuke. "I'm impressed Sasuke, I didnt think you'dbe able to hold back your anger."The Uchiha scoffed and looked away.

"Naruto come on we have to keep moving." Jiraiya yelled at him. Naruto nodded and turned back to Sasuke again. "Get back to Konoha hopefully we'll be back with the new Hokage soon." Sasuke nodded and began the troublesome task of getting Kin to calm down.

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I got my reviews so here, this is the next chap. Hope you all like it.

Another fifteen brings another chap. So review.


	22. Tsunade

Just like before I got my reviews so here's the new chap.

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Naruto and Jiraiya soon left Sasuke and the two girls and continued their search for Tsunade. On the way Naruto was able to get the first stage of the Rasengan with some help from Kyuubi and was able to get the second stage done a few day's later.

Now he was trying to finally complete the last stage of the damn thing but of course it was at least ten times harder than the last. They soon came to the sight of a village where a great amount of damage had been done apparently by snakes from the strong scent Naruto picked up.

"Come on brat we have to find out what caused this and then we can continue searching for Tsunade." With that the pervert started walking down to the village. Naruto followed behind closely.

When they walked into the village they found a few injured people. Jiraiya walked up to an old man that had his arm in a sling. "Excuse me sir can you tell me what happened here?"

The old man turned to him. "It was horrible, a giant snake just appeared out of nowhere and destroyed everything. And then it just suddenly vanished into thin air." Jiraiya nodded and started walking away with a thoughtful/pissed off look on his face. Naruto shrugged and started following him.

After they searched through the town for a while they finally found the blond woman and her apprentice sitting in a bar drinking sake. Naruto didn't know if it was them but when he saw Jiraiya walking into the bar with a serious look on his face and not the normal perverted grin he knew that this had to be the one they were looking for.

"Hey Tsunade!" Jiraiya yelled in his over exuberant voice. Tsunade looked up at him with a surprised look on her face. "Jiraiya? What the hell is going on? First Orochimaru and now you. This is turning into the weirdest day of my life."

Jiraiya kept his smile as he sat down across from her and motioned for Naruto to sit next to him. The blond wordlessly sat down and Jiraiya ordered some sake.

"Why are you here?" Tsunade asked getting straight to the point. Jiraiya wordlessly poured his drink and absently gave a glass to Naruto not caring that the boy was underage. Naruto eyed the drink with a raised eyebrow for a few minutes then wordlessly drank it.

He decided that he liked the taste. He poured himself some more and listened to the conversation taking place right infront of him.

"I'm here because we need your help back in Konoha. Orochimaru attacked and Sarutobi sensei was put in a coma. You're the only one that can get him out of it. And we also need a new Hokage since Sarutobi-sensei despite the fact that he is strong is getting far to old for the job. I assume Orochimaru realized this and decided to get rid of you since your really the only one fit for the position right now other than me. And your also the only person that can heal Sarutobi-sensei."

Tsunade downed her own sake before answering. "I'll go back and heal Sarutobi sensei but I'm not taking the job of Hokage."

"You do realize that Orochimaru will continue sending attacks against you until he succeeds right?" Jiraiya interrupted her before she finished. "And I'm wondering just how you managed to escape without one of you being dead or this entire town demolished?"

Tsunade shrugged with her shoulders. "He showed up with some white haired guy that used bones as weapons. I took on Orochimaru while Shizune took on the other guy. After a while he had a coughing fit and Shizune managed to get in a few good hits and crippled him. Orochimaru knew that taking on both me and Shizune would be a problem so he retreated."

Shizune nodded thoughtfully and joined in the conversation. "Yeah but I think that the guy I was fighting would have been much stronger if he wouldn't have fought while he was sick and I think that if he wouldn't of had that coughing fit I would have eventually lost."

Tsunade looked at her slightly surprised "You sure?" Shizune nodded and Tsunade shrugged again. "It doesn't matter I wont take the title of Hokage. That title is trash." Naruto calmly continued to drink while listening.

"Only fools would chose to take that worthless title. Worthless fools with a death wish."

Naruto narrowed his eyes in anger and the small cup in his hands shattered cutting his hand and letting a small trickle of blood flow. Everyone was entitled to their opinions but his father was a Hokage and he loved Sarutobi like one would love a grandfather no one insulted them in his presence.

Without warning Naruto's flame whip lashed out aiming for Tsunade. The female Sannin reacted purely on instinct and reflexes honed through the years and grabbed the whip. She resisted the urge to jerk her hand back as the flames burnt her. She molded chakra into her hand to work as a glove to protect her from the flames.

Naruto tightened his grip on the whip and glared at the woman. His piercing gold eyes digging deeply into her brown ones. Jiraiya and Shizune looked between the both of them nervously. Jiraiya knew exactly why Naruto reacted that way but Shizune and Tsunade were clueless.

"Don't ever insult the old man or any of the Hokage's in my presence if you value your life." Naruto said still not letting up his glare. Tsunade narrowed her eyes at him. After a few seconds of silence she scoffed. "Yeah right brat you probably couldn't lay a finger on me kid. And why do you care anyway?"

"Why should I tell an old bat like you?" Jiraiya was openly sweating now. _HE DID NOT JUST CALL HER AN OLD BAT! PLEASE GOD TELL ME HE DIDN'T CALL HER AN OLD BAT! _He continued yelling in his mind.

Tsunade was positively pissed right now. Shizune edged away from her master, clearly not wanting to be anywhere near the older woman. Tsunade stood and put her foot on the table. "What was that?"

Naruto stood as well. "You heard me just fine, unless your hearing got bad in your old age."

"Why don't we take this OUTSIDE!" As she yelled the last part she used her monstrous strength and pulled Naruto by his flame whip and threw him right through the wall and into the street outside."

Tsunade walked through the newly made door and saw Naruto getting out of the rubble. "That stung." He said standing to his full height. Of course he was bluffing it didn't 'sting' as he put it. It hurt like a real bitch but he'd be damned if he said that.

Tsunade was a very surprised that he had been able to stand up so quickly after hse had thrown him but she quickly got out of it and walked into the middle of the street.

Naruto walked to the middle of the street as well. His eyes never leaving the blond. "That was a cheap shot." He said after a few seconds of silence.

Before Tsunade could respond Naruto's whip shot out again. She was about to catch it but she noticed that the chakra put into the technique was much stronger now. So instead of catching it she side stepped and watched in amazement as the ground where she once stood exploded when the whip touched it sending dirt and dust everywhere.

She looked back just in time to see Naruto aiming a hit to her face. She had originally believed Naruto to be nothing more than a gennin but that technique he used was at least high chuunin. She quickly batted his punch to the side.

Naruto used the motion to aim a round house kick to her face. _'Heh this'll surprise her'_ While he had his back turned to Tsunade he quickly formed an imperfect Rasengan in his hand. As expected Tsunade dodged his kick by leaning back a little and letting it pass her by.

But as he regained his footing he moved fast and aimed his Rasengan right at Tsunade. The wommans eyes widened in recognition. Then as fast as lightning Tsunade grabbed Naruto's wrist and forcefully pushed his attack to the wall making it explode. Tsunade tried to knee Naruto in the stomach.

The blond saw her movement and placed his free hand to block while pushing chakra to his arm to lessen the blow.

Tsunade landed a solid blow on him and Naruto went flying across the street right through two buildings and into another street. 'Owwwwww" He groaned as he pushed some of the debris off of him and struggled to stand up.

Meanwhile two streets away.

"How could you have taught him that technique Jiraiya?"

(Tsunade doesn't know that Naruto is Arashi's son she wasn't there when Kyuubi attacked. She only met his mother.)

Jiraiya merely shrugged "He is strong and I figured he should learn it."

"He has no chance of learning it you should never have gotten his hopes up."

"Really one shouldn't talk about others when their not here to defend themselves." Tsunade turned to the voice and found Naruto stumbling out of a hole he had made in the wall.

Tsunade was surprised by the fact that he had managed to even stand after her kick. "You wont be able to learn that technique." She stated flatly. Naruto raised a curious eyebrow at her. "Wanna bet?" He asked her with a slight smirk tugging at his lips.

Now Tsunade known as the legendary sucker for nothing. As expected she took the bait. "Tell you what if you can learn that technique in three weeks I'll take the position of Hokage and as a bonus…" She grabbed the necklace of the first. "I'll give you this necklace as a reward. It belonged to the first."

Naruto smirked "I'll master it in a week old woman." He turned and started walking away. "I'm gonna go train Jiraiya I'll see you later."

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Naruto had trained himself day in and day out in his attempt to finish the last stage of the rasengan. It had gotten to the point that Naruto had fully used up his chakra and was now using his grandfathers chakra. At the end of the sixth day, just one day before he had to finish the technique Naruto finally mastered the thing.

Naruto stood in the center of the clearing that was lined with craters with a wide and triumphant smirk plastered right across his face. _'Hehehe take that old hag' _He thought before losing consciousness.

Kyuubi sighed and shook his head exasperated. **_'Damn brats gonna get himself killed one of these days'_**

Just then jiraiya came into the clearing and found Naruto's wide smirk on his unconscious face. He could almost guess what he was smirking about. _'No way. He couldn't possibly……could he?'_

Pushing the thoughts out of his mind he quickly hoisted Naruto over his shoulder and walked back to the hotel.

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Naruto blearily opened his eyes. The second that he did Shizune ran right to his side. "Naruto we have to hurry and find Tsunade-sama!" Naruto blinked a few seconds as he registered the words in his head. He sat up on the bed and proceeded to get his kunais and other equipment.

"What the hell happened while I was asleep Shizune?" He asked her as he armed himself. Shizune opened the window and positioned herself to jump away. "I don't know nJiraiya and Tsunade just left suddenly and told me to stay here and look after you. A few minutes later I could hear some explosions and the sounds of battle coming from about five blocks away."

"How long ago?" Naruto asked as they both jumped out the window.

"Not long…about fifteen minutes I'd say."

Naruto nodded and they soon came across a few destroyed buildings. Naruto sniffed the air and caught the scents of Jiraiya, Tsunade and the snake. He immediately took off in the same direction following them Shizune right on his heels.

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Jiraiya was having a bad day…no wait he was having the WORST DAY IN HIS PERVERTED LIFE."

He was fighting off both Orochimaru and the freeky bone guy.

You might be wondering why Tsunade wasn't helping him. Well as many people Know Tsunade is petrified of blood so what did Orochimaru do the second he showed up? He threw a whole bucket of the stuff at her feet. Thus paralyzing her and was now able to focus all his energy on him.

Fighting the snake was bad enough but fighting the snake and the freeky bone guy was hell.

Tsunade stared at the blood shaking. Her eyes were wide with fear. Immages of her brother and ex-lover flashed through her mind. She noticed from the corner of her eye Jiraiya getting stabbed in the shoulder by one of the bones Kimimaro used.

Something in her snapped she literally willed herself to move. She slowly turned and once again willed herself to move and ran toward the white haired nin.

Jiraiya sidestepped another attack from Orochimaru's tongue and began doing hand seals. But before he finished another Of Kimimaro's bones shot out and stabbed him in his hand. Jiraiya hissed in pain. He looked up and found Kimimaro coming to attack him with his bone sword.

There wouldn't be enough time to dodge, he closed his eyes and waited for the pain. Then a bone crunching sound was heard and Jiraiya opened his eyes to lay eyes on Tsunade kicking Kimimaro in the face and sending him clear across the clearing.

Orochimaru narrowed his eyes and jumped away from his two former teammates.

Tsunade moved to Jiraiya and started healing his hand and injured shoulder. While the white haired Sannin stared at her with surprise on his features. After a few seconds Tsunade noticed. "What?" She snapped at him.

"You-the blood doesn't bother you?" He asked wondering if this was just some medic in a henge.

Tsunade looked at her hands and noticed they were indeed covered in blood. "I guess I got over it."

A large cloud of smoke covered the area. Tsunade and Jiraiya both turned and found Orochimaru standing atop the familiar form of Manda. Jiraiya and Tsunade both did their own hand seals and summoned their respective summons.

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Naruto and Shizune both entered the clearing as the summons appeared. Naruto was about to call on his own summon when a spear that looked like it was made out of bones flew right infront of his face nearly killing him.

Naruto turned and found the white haired Kimimaro. "You know you might poke someone's eye out like that" Naruto said pointing at the spear on the ground. Shizune sweatdropped but said nothing.

Kimimaro very nearly sweatdropped as well but he held it in check and called his spear back into his body. "I will not allow you to harm Orochimaru-sama" He said as the bone entered his body.

Naruto looked at him wide eyed. His eyes kept darting from Kimimaro's eyes to the place where the bone entered. After several seconds Naruto finally spoke. "That's just not right."

Kimimaro narrowed his eyes and charged at Naruto. Taking out two bone swords in the process. Naruto took out his own sword "That's really not right. He said as he backflipped to avoid a swipe from Kimimaro to his head.

Kimimaro used his second sword and attempted a downward slash at the blond. Naruto leaped to the side and threw a kunai with an explosive tag at Kimimaro. Kimimaro saw the tag and bones shot out from his back and surrounded him forming a cage/shield around him. The kunai hit and exploded.

Kimimaro shot out of the dust cloud headed straight for Naruto. He got in range and attacked with a side swipe to Naruto's stomach. Naruto jumped right over the blade and flipped a few times and then tried to attack with a downward slash. Kimimaro took both swords and formed an X with them. He bloked Naruto's strike and the blond pressed both his legs onto Kimimaro's chest and used him as a platform to jump back a short distance away.

Kimimaro staggered a bit and regained his footing. He charged at naruto again and slashed at Naruto with the bone sword in his right hand. Naruto batted the sword away with his own and Kimimaro swiped with his other sword. Naruto ducked under the blade and sweep kicked Kimimaro knocking him to the ground.

Naruto got to his feet and attempted to attack Kimimaro while he was down with his sword. Kimimaro rolled to the side and took both his swords back into his body he got to his back and thrusted his hands toward Naruto.

Suddenly small bullets made of bones shot out of his fingers and headed straight for Naruto. Naruto jumped away while Kimimaro jumped to his feet and continued his assault.

Shizune finally joined into the fight and rushed at Kimimaro. She charged a chakra scalpel in her hand and lunged at Kimimaro. Kimimaro had his full attention on shooting Naruto with his bone bullets and was caught off guard. Shizune was easily able to get in a few hits and cut the tendons in his right arm and leg.

She jumped back as a bone spike came from Kimimaro's side nearly impaling her.

Naruto shot out his flame whip and nailed Kimimaro in the face. If it wasn't for the think layer of bones he had placed beneath his skin he would have easily been cut in half.

Kimimaro went flying and crashed into a nearby boulder. He quickly activated his curse seal up to the maximum level. His wounds healed and he grew several horns on his head and the teeth along his lower jaw grew to fangs almost two inches long.

Naruto narrowed his eyes and dissipated his flame whip. He didn't waste time and immediately transformed. His hair turned white and white feathers floated around him, his eyes turned white along with the mist that flowed out of them.

Kimimaro immediately got to his feet and put both hands behind his back. Naruto was confused by this but his confusion was cleared up as Kimimaro suddenly pulled out his spinal cord and held it in his hand.

"Okay that is officially the most disgusting thing I've ever seen." Kimimaro ignored the comment and charged at Naruto. He used his spinal cord as a bladed whip and lashed out at the blond. Naruto moved his sword and intercepted the whip.

Kimimaro's bone whip wrapped around his sword. Naruto held onto his blade and Kimimaro tightened his grip on the whip. But suddenly Shizune came in and nailed him right in the face. Naruto shot forward at incredible speeds and pushed a lot of demonic chakra into his sword and stabbed Himimaro right through his stomach and pinned him into a nearby boulder.

Kimimaro's eyes widened in surprise as he coughed up blood. No one had ever managed to pierce his bone armor. He moved to pull the blade out but even with his enhanced strength he found that the blade wouldn't move an inch.

Naruto turned and watched as Tsunade and Jiraiya sqred off against Orochimaru. "HEY OLD HAG!" He yelled as loud as he could. Tsunad twitched and turned back to him. "WHAT?"

Naruto smirked. "YOU OWE ME A NECKLACE!" Sudenly Naruto charged up a complete and perfect Rasengan in his hand. (Insert Scarface accent here.) "Say hello to my little friend." He yelled as he pulled his sword out and slammed his rasengan right into Kimimaro's gut. Destroying the boulder and sending him flying.

Orochimaru saw what happened and grew angry…no scratch that…he was infuriated beyond all humanly sense. This was the second useful vassal the brat had beat. He was rapidly becoming a problem.

But no matter how much he wanted to strike without Kimimaro he knew he had absolutely no chance of winning. He quickly disappeared in a puff of smoke along with manda and grabbed Kimimaro on the way, hoping that the white haired bone user would still be useful when they got back.

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After the battle Tsunade was pretty shocked at what Naruto had done. As soon as she got out of her shock and smiled at him warmly. "Naruto I think this belongs to you." She said handing him the necklace.

Naruto smiled and let Tsunade place the necklace on him. When he looked back at her he was surprised when he felt her soft lips against his forehead.

She broke the kiss and smiled at Naruto's shocked face. "You deserve it brat."

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It was a few days latter when they arrived in Konoha. Naruto immediately went home to rest since he was dead tired. **"Hey brat your birthday's coming up soon right?"**

'_Yeah why?'_

"**You turn thirteen right?"**

'_Yessss' _He said slowly trying to understand where the fox was taking this.

"**Hmm I thought so. Well happy birthday your officially going to gain your first tail."**

_WHAT?_

"**That's right brat you are going to gain your first tail on your thirteenth birthday."**

Naruto slowly grasped the information that had just been given to him. After a few seconds Naruto was able to form coherent questions. _'So what's gonna happen will I just grow a tail and that's it?'_

"**No no of course not. Your going to gain a tail your physical appearance will change a little bit and your going to have an……interesting……voice in the back of your head. And no that will not be me speaking."**

'_What do you mean?'_

"**It's basically your demonic instincts taking on a semi conscious manifestation. Your basic desires will constantly be competing with your logic and reason. The same thing will probably happen to Gaara."**

'_I see well we can worry about that when my birthday comes up. For now lets get home and get some sleep.'_

But when he got to his house he noticed a small note on his table.

A note that was not there when he left.

He quickly walked over and grabbed the note and read over it. As soon as he did his eyes widened in surprise before he burst out laughing.

"I can't believe that boozehound is actually ready!"

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Well here's the new chap. Sorry for the short fight scene but I've been getting ready for my trip and haven't really had time to sit down and type properly but I promise the next chap and future fight scenes will be much better.


	23. Vote

I've gotten a few reviews that have asked weather Naruto should have a fox tail or a dragon tail since the original ten tails was a dragon

Review and vote for it.


	24. Well this is surprising

Well the voting was close very close. So close infact that it was a dead locked tie. So I came up with the next best thing.

I am going to-

(Kakashi jumps on stage binds and gags the author and has him hauled away by the ANBU)

"Sorry I'm not going to let him spoil it for you." He say's cheerfully without taking his eyes off of the Icha Icha book in his hand.

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Tsunade looked at Naruto and looked back at the note he had given her and then darted her eyes back to meet his. This continued for several minutes until she finally set the note down on her desk. "You can't be serious." She deadpanned.

Naruto smirked. "I'm dead serious about this Tsunade." Tsunade sighed and rubbed her temples in frustration. Her second day on the job and she was already feeling a migraine coming on. "Let me get this straight." She said leaning on her desk and lacing her hands infront of her. "You want me to grant you permission to head to mist and assist Momochi Zabuza in his assault on the remaining mist nins walled up in the city."

Naruto nodded with the grin still firmly planted on his face. Tsunade twitched a little. This was a lose lose situation. If she granted him permission then he would run off in a heart beat and would be without any form of back up. And if she said no he'd simply go anyway and she'd have to suffer through hours of paper work to keep him off the missing nin list.

She looked at the list of available ninjas and frowned. She was about to give him a long drawn out speech as to why she couldn't allow this but Naruto cut her off. "Tsunade Konoha is currently on very edgy terms with the mist isn't it?" Tsunade nodded at him wondering where exactly he was taking this.

"Well think about it. We're currently at war with sound, Konoha isn't on good terms with any major power except sand. And that's just because they reinstated our alliance with us. The only other powers that we are allies with is rain and their ninjas aren't as good as ours, Wave and they only posses a small militia force and snow country. And that village is almost completely out of reach if certain routes through the mountains are taken by the enemy so think about it. We can take down a potential enemy and gain an ally. You saw for yourself he stated that they took the outer wall of the city because more than half of the Shinobi that were fighting for mist defected in the middle of the battle."

Tsunade thought for a moment. The boy had a point many points infact. She closed her eyes and finally sighed. "All right Naruto I'll grant it. But you have to take at least five other ninja's with you."

Naruto cheered loudly. Tsunade took out a paper and began signing it. "I assume you want to leave now. Surprisingly Naruto shook his head. "No I'll leave in two day's time." Tsunade looked at him with a bit of shock in her eyes. "Really? Why?"

Naruto scratched the back of his head sheepishly "Oh no reason." _'Except that my birthday is tomorrow' _He added mentally "Can I get a list of all the available shinobi?" Tsunade nodded and threw him the scroll.

Tsunade saw the semi troubled expression on his face and grew a little worried. _'I should keep an eye on him. Or maybe I can ask Jiraiya to keep an eye on him.'_

Naruto walked out of the office. Just before he was out of earshot he yelled as loud as he could over his shoulder. "THANKS TSUNADE-BACHAN" He had to dodge the chair that went flying over his head and killed a council member that sneered at him.

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"Excuse me" Spoke the legendary toad sannin Jiraiya, who was currently sitting cross-legged staring at the blond infront of him with a blank expression on his face.

Naruto nodded a bit sheepishly "Yeah, since you're the only person I know besides the old man who knows about my parents I came to you for help. The old man will be out of commission for another week so I cant ask him and I'm not sure if Tsunade knows about it."

Jiraiya stared blankly at the soon to be teenager infront of him for several seconds before finally speaking. "Why do you need me again?" Naruto face faulted at the question. He quickly recovered and spoke again. "Because I don't want the whole city to think that Kyuubi came back and start a riot." He practically yelled in the sannins face.

Jiraiya stared still using the blank expression on his face. "Soooooo….let me get this straight. You're going to gain your first tail tonight at midnight and you want me to put a seal to mask the chakra output that will occur and will absorb the backlash and the shockwaves."

At Naruto's nod Jiraiya sighed. "Where do I meet you?" Naruto's smile was so bright it could illuminate a dark cave. "Thanks! My place tonight thanks again erosennin!"

"DON'T CALL ME THAT!"

Naruto waved him off dismissively "Yeah yeah fine whatever." With that Naruto got up and started to walk away. When he was out of range he pulled out the scroll and started reading for all the available shinobi. After several minutes of reading his eye started to twitch dangerously.

"YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING THE ONLY PEOPLE AVAILABLE ARE GENNIN DIDN'T THE OLD BAG READ THIS STUPID THING!"

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Moments later he arrived at Sakura's house. He knocked on the door while praying to god that Sakura would answer instead of one of her parents. His prayers were answered that day. The door opened revealing his pink haired teammate. "Hi Naruto?" She greeted cheerfully.

Naruto smiled "Hey Sakura. Listen I don't have much time so I'll get straight to the point. I'm going to take a mission and I need at least five other ninjas with me. It's a high B class possibly A do you want in?"

Sakura thought about it. She wanted to test out the skills she had gained from Kakashi during the month of training for the chuunin exams but was she ready to take on a B class possibly A class mission?"

"**Oh please don't be such a coward we'll be able to kick all their asses and Naruto has always been pretty strong so why not and on top of everything else we've got five other ninjas with us on the mission."** Inner Sakura decided to chime in.

"Allright I'll do it."

Naruto nodded "Thanks Sakura but you should probably check with your parents first if your still willing to go then meet me on the east bridge in two days." Sakura nodded and walked back into the house.

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Naruto stared at the door infront of him.

And stared.

And stared.

And stared

And then…

He stared some more.

Finally…

He looked back at the list and sighed. He had gone to all the possible candidates. He went to Sasuke who readily agreed. He went to Neji and Hinata but both of them said that they couldn't since Hiashi had assigned them some special training. He then went to Shikamaru but the damn lazy bum said it was far to troublesome. He went to Chouji, Kiba, Ino and Shino but just like Neji and Hinata they had some special training with their families.

So then he went to Lee. Oh brother LEE that was certainly an interesting recruitment. Naruto had spent a complete hour trying to find out if the ranting and ravings of the flames of youth were a 'yes I will go' or a 'no I cant go' In the end Lee agreed.

So that only left two people. Ten Ten was the first. He went to her house and asked just like he had with Sakura. At first she was hesitant but after Naruto let some information that Gaara might show up Ten Ten agreed almost immediately. Naruto had to bite his tongue to avoid laughing out loud when he heard Tenten mutter something about cute fluffy ears.

So now he was at the last door. The door of one Tsuchi Kin. _'Why why couldn't it have been someone……ANYONE else why did it have to be her?'_

He sighed again and almost DECIDED TO WALK AWAY BUT Tsunade wouldn't let him leave without the fifth member of the team and Kin was the only person left. He slowly…ever so slowly knocked. After several seconds of silence the gruff reply of "WHO THE HELL IS IT?" sliced through the air like a hot knife through butter.

Moments latter Kin opened the door and saw Naruto. She eyed him for a moment before she finally spoke. "Whadaya want?" Naruto smiled cheerfully "Aw gee is that anyway to say hi to someone? Especially a friend?"

"Yeah right you probably want something don't you?" Naruto smiled and nodded a bit sheepishly "Yeah I need your help for a mission. I need five teammates and you're the only one available for the last spot. So what do you say?"

Kin shrugged "Fine whatever." _'It cant be any worse than a C class mission if their sending a Gennin on it.' _She thought. Naruto smiled and silently thanked God she agreed. She had already said yes and that was as good as a written contract in the shinobi world.

"Great I'll meet you on the east bridge in two days foryourfirsthighBorAclassmissionbye." He yelled out the last part really fast and bolted out of the building before Kin could register what he said in her mind.

Kin stayed at the doorway for several seconds trying to decifer what he said. When it finally sunk in……

"**WHAAAAAATTTTT" **The building shook, babies cried windows broke two people in Suna looked up from their game of chess to see what had caused the disturbance.

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Meanwhile Tsunade was sitting in the council chambers waiting for the council to gather. She had found a certain paper detailing the promotions for the chuunin exam. And she was quite frankly pissed. The Hokage was one that usually assigned the promotions but in his absence the council took over.

The council decided the promotions by votes. They had almost unanimously voted for Uchiha Sasuke and Aburame Shino to become Chuunins. From the reports gatherd that fight along with one that Sabaku no Gaara fought in were the only fight other than Naruto's to be displayed in the finals since it was interrupted with the attack on the village.

But what angered her was that in the reports of the attack two eye witnesses reported Naruto fighting the sand Demon Shukaku to a flat out draw. And that was a feat that most Jounins couldn't accomplish. When the council was asked to give a verdict the only ones that supported Naruto becoming a Chuunin were

Hyuuga Hiashi, Akamichi Chomaru, Nara Shikato, Yamanaka Inoishi, Aburame Shini and Inuzuka Futaba. (I think that's the name of Kiba's mom. If not please tell me.)

The rest of the council gave them some bullshit excuse of that action not being part of the examination and so it could not be included in their judgment.

Tsunade was furious. She knew the Kyuubi was inside of Naruto but anyone with half a brain or anyone that had spoken to the boy for more than five minutes should realize that the Kyuubi and the boy were two separate beings.

One by one the council members entered and took their seats Tsunade addressed them almost immediately. "I have gathered all of you here to discus the promotions for the chuunin exam."

"Ah yes Tsunade-sama as I'm sure you have noticed Uchiha Sasuke and Aburame Shino are both excellent candidates for the position of Chuunin. Both of them showed enough physical strength to be promoted to Chuunin and both used some form of strategy in their fight. With some training they could become excellent tacticians." One councilman replied smugly.

Tsunade nodded. "Indeed but I am not here to discus their promotion. I'm here to discus the situation of one Uzumaki Naruto. From the reports it stated that he not only defeated Hyuuga Neji in his fight he displayed an ability to protect his tenketsu's from being sealed as well as a Chakra capacity far above that of any normal chuunin so I am here to ask why he was not promoted."

The council members began murmuring amongst themselves until finally one man broke the silence and stepped forward. "Tsunade-sama surely you can understand that we must never alow that miserable demon to gain the Honor of being a Chuunin. It would be a disgrace to the village."

Tsunade inwardly seethed but she kept it in check. "I see you are right we must not promote Naruto to Chuunin." The councilmen smirked while Hiashi narrowed his eyes in anger.

"For his service in planning the defense of Konoha to defeating the demon Shukaku to convincing me to take the position of Hokage and finally in his latest mission to secure an ally in the mist village I am hereby promoting Uzumaki Naruto to the rank of _Elite _Jounin."

The council members jaws dropped to the floor while Hiashi grinned. Finally as Tsunade started walking out the door one council member found his voice. "Tsu-Tsunade-sama you cant be serious. We cannot allow that demon to gain such an honor it is a disgrace I will not stand for it."

His cry was met with agreements from the majority of the council. But they were all immediately silenced **"SHUT UP!"** Tsunade's voice boomed through the hallways stopping every councilmember in their tracks.

"The only disgrace in this village is how long you bastards have been left unchecked. You've done nothing but make the life of a young and loyal Shinobi more difficult than what it should be. All of you old fools are lower than the ground he walks on. If you've got a problem with me or my decision then I don't care. I'm the Hokage and what I say goes."

With that Tsunade walked out the door muttering something about killing a stupid old man when he got better.

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Tsunade afterwards returned to her office and started doing the paper work while cursing both it and the councilmember's through her teeth.

The door to her office opened and through it entered the great pervert Jiraiya. "What do you want pervert?" She asked heatedly. But when she did not get a reply and Jiraiya merely sat down with a serious look on his face Tsunade immediately stopped what she was doing.

Jiraiya leaned forward with his eyes and expression still dead serious. "We need to talk." He stated simply. His voice even. Tsunade immediately paid her full attention to him.

"Its about Naruto's parents." Tsunade raised a curious eyebrow at him. "What do you mean Naruto's parents? Did you know them?" Jiraiya nodded at her. "Yes I did and so did you. I'm sure you remember a Kazama Arashi and one Kazama Shani."

Tsunade's eyes nearly came out of her sockets. "Wait! You mean that…" Before she could finish Jiraiya nodded. Tsunade leaned back in her chair and sighed "Does he know?" Jiraiya nodded again. "Yeah he does. I'm not here to fill him in on anything I'm here to fill you in on something's specifically Naruto's mother and grandfather."

Tsunade glanced back at him. "His mother and grandfather? What of them?"

Jiraiya stood and walked to the balcony. "Before I begin…I need your assurance that no matter what your opinion of Naruto will not change." Tsunade was now thoroughly interested. Whatever it was that might cause her to think ill of the blond was certainly big. "Jiraiya don't insult me I'm not like most of those ignorant bastards in the council."

Jiraiya looked at her with a rare analytical stare before he finally looked back out the balcony and spoke. "Listen good because I'm not repeating this."

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Tsunade was openly gaping at Jiraiya at the end of his tale. "So you mean that Naruto is…"

Jiraiya nodded

'And is mother was…"

Jiraiya nodded again

"And his grandfather was…"

Once again the sannin nodded.

"Wow." They stayed in silence. Tsunade organizing her thoughts and Jiraiya silently allowing her to do so. After what seemed like hours Tsunade finally spoke again. "So what brought this on? Why did you tell me?" Jiraiya was a little surprised at the question. "I figured that I could trust you with the information, that you deserved to know and the fact that I need your help."

Tsunade's head shot up like a rocket. "What do you mean you need my help? What kind of help? What the hell's going on that you need help with? Is something bad gonna happen to Naruto?" The questions came out of her mouth so fast Jiraiya barely caught the words. "Whoa slow down Tsunade! Take a deep breath. Nothing bad is gonna happen to Naruto."

Tsunade took a deep breath and calmed herself. "Allright tell me what's up." Jiraija turned back to look at her. "Well Naruto has told me that tonight at midnight will be his thirteenth birthday. He also told me that tonight……he would gain his first tail."

Tsunade's eyes widened Jiraiya gave her no chance to speak as he continued. "He asked me to put a seal around his house so that half the villages ANBU don't show up at his front door in the middle of the night thinking that Kyuubi's broken free. I'm not sure how much chakra it will take so I'm asking you for help in keeping the seal in place."

It didn't take long for Tsunade to agree. "Fine I'll meet you at his place tonight. I think I'll give him a little surprise for his birthday." She added smirking a little bit. Jiraiya raised a curious eyebrow but said nothing otherwise.

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Naruto leaned against his door panting. It had taken almost a full thirty minutes to get away from the extremely pissed off Kin, who had chased him half way across the city. He looked at the clock on the wall. _'Erosennin will probably be here in a few hours I think I'll sleep for a while.'_

With that thought Naruto went to his room flopped down on the bed and fell asleep.

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It was several hours latter almost at 11 at night when Jiraiya arrived. Jiraiya entyered and saw Naruto sleeping. He decided not to bother the blond and merely began drawing the seal pattern around the room.

When he was about halfway done Naruto finally stirred "Errosennin? Whaderya doing here?" He asked still feeling very tired. Jiraiya was very confused why but he guessed that since he was going to gain his first tail the body was having the boy sleep so the subconscious and instincts would take over.

"Nothing brat go back to sleep I'll finish the seal's and stay until your transformation is completed." Naruto nodded and was asleep almost instantly.

At eleven thirty Tsunade showed up and Jiraiya finished the seal a few minutes later. They both silently waited for the hour. Naruto hadn't moved an inch since he woke up and spoke to Jiraiya.

Suddenly the clock on the wall chimed and Tsunade and Jiraiya looked up to find it was midnight. They moved over to Naruto and placed him in the center of the seal. They both moved to either side of the seal and began channeling chakra into it.

It didn't take long. At exactly 12:01 Naruto's face contorted in pain, he instinctively curled himself up in the fetal position and his chakra flared a little bit. Tsunade and Jiraiya watched the process with silent fascination and a certain amount of pain in their eyes.

Naruto soon began screaming as his chakra flared even more and small flicks of white and black lights emerged from his blue chakra. After a few more minutes his screams grew louder and more agonizing and his chakra was now completely bathing the room. Jiraiya didn't think that Naruto could have much more chakra left since he himself was starting to sweat a bit and so was Tsunade.

But just as they thought he was done Naruto's chakra suddenly exploded. Very nearly making Jiraiya fall on his back at the force. The aged sannin braced himself and put even more chakra into the seal.

Naruto's chakra suddenly morphed and turned into an orangey color that was leaning on red. Where before it felt like a normal humans with a mixture of demon, with the human side being the dominant factor. Now it felt almost completely demon with a little human. The air suddenly grew thick and heavy. Tsunade felt as if she could barely stand.

Sudenly the chakra split and condensed, taking on two different forms. One was a ten tailed fox and the other was a ten tailed dragon. Both creatures roared at each other. Jiraiya was glad he had put up some sound blocking seals because he was sure that the whole village would have heard that.

The two creatures lunged at each other and began fighting. Neither seemed to gain an advantage. Then with one last deafening roar both creatures dissipated in a blinding flash of light.

When the light dissipated It revealed Naruto with a single fox tail. His hair was longer but was still spiky. He was also much taller. One could easily tell by the fact that his clothes were torn. The little baby fat that he possessed was now completely non existent. His ears were pointier and his whisker marks were even more defined. Tsunade and Jiraiya placed him back on the bed.

"I'll go get him some clothes you stay here and make sure nothing happens to him." Tsunade said as she began walking out the door. Jiraiya nodded and sprawled himself on the couch to fall asleep.

Before he fell asleep a vest was suddenly thrown in his face. He blearily opened his eye and grabbed the offending item. "Give it to the brat when he wakes up." He heard Tsunade yell before she was out of earshot.

He looked at the vest and his eyes grew a little wide. _'An elite jounin vest! Damn brat practically flew through the ranks. Oh well at this point he might even be able to beat me if he went all out.'_

With that thought he went back to his task of falling asleep.

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Naruto woke up the next morning with his head feeling like it was being torn open. He groaned loudly before turning his head to find that on his couch were some clothes and a note. He weakly stood up and walked over to the couch.

He took the note and read.

'_Naruto hope you feel better by the time you read this I'm sorry I couldn't stay but I got a tip on some Akatsuki members so I had to look up on it. Tsunade got you some clothes. Don't worry I told her everything and she still doesn't think any differently about you._

_You might want to check your appearance when you wake up.'_

Naruto made a mental note to 'talk' to Jiraiya about telling other peoples secrets. He lazily grabbed the clothes and walked to the bathroom. He looked at himself in the mirror and had to stifle a gasp.

His face had lost all the baby fat. It was more angular and his cheek bones were more defined. His gold slitted eyes now had a red ring around it. His whiskers were more defined nad his hair was near shoulder length. He also noticed something was a little off.

It took a few moments to place but it hit him like a ton of bricks. "I'm taller." He grinned at himself if he had to guess he was probably about 6'1. He was very happy about that as one could tell by his happy swishing of his tail.

Wait a minute………HIS TAIL! He turned his head around so fast the bones in his neck cracked. Indeed he did have a fluffy fox tail. He brought it up close to his face and examined it. He quickly grabbed the thing and yelped as a small stab of pain hit him unexpectedly. He grabbed it again with a bit more care.

'_Hey Kyuubi look I got my first tail.'_

"**Indeed…"**

'_What that's all your gonna say? Indeed, that's it? No congratulations or anything.'_

"**Don't get me wrong brat but…I sense something is a bit off. I want you to get dressed and head to the training ground. Get moving"**

Sensing the seriousness behind his grandfathers words Naruto nodded.

After several seconds he wrapped the tail around his waist and put on his new clothes.

Tsunade had got him a black trench coat much like Ibiki's. She also got him a black pair of pants and shirt to go with it. He walked into the kitchen and immediately noticed the dark green vest on the table. He walked over and read the note ontop of it.

'_Naruto happy birthday congratulations. Love Tsunade'_

Naruto very nearly cried at the letter. He took another look at the jacket and his eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets. _'This is an…elite jounins vest…she promoted me to elite Jounin? I LOVE YOU TSUNADE BACHAN'_

"**Yes, yes enough of the damn celebrating and get to the training grounds I want to find out what's wrong."**

Naruto decided he would get the color changed to black to go with his outfit and walked out the door.

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A few minutes latter he found himself at the training grounds.

'_Allright what do you want me to do?'_

Kyuubi thought for a moment. **"Transform into one of your two forms."**

Naruto nodded and immediately he transformed into his dark form. But as he did he felt a great pain take over his tail and upper back. He very nearly cried out but he managed to endure it. He then unwrapped his tail from his waist and gasped as he gazed at…scales.

But before he could concentrate on that something else caught his attention. Out of his back now stood TWO LARGE BAT LIKE WINGS!

He immediately ran to a stream that was nearby to look at his appearance. Though one couldn't tell much of his appearance beneath the veil of darkness one could easily notice that his normaly black eyes were now completely bloodshot red and they were a bit more narrow.

He gazed at the two wings and scaly reptilian tail that he now sported. _'Well this is…'_

"**Interesting" **

'_Unexpected' _Naruto corrected. _'So mind explaining.'_

"**I am puzzled myself. Your mother never showed this transformation. But if I had to guess I would have to guess it is because you are a half demon and the fact that you started wielding the sword before you were even able to multiply is a viable explanation. Your mother started wielding the blade when she gained her third tail and not only that, she was a full demon. **

**The blade you wield was meant to be used by the dragon clan but since they died out almost twenty thousand years ago it was left to the only ones from the other clans that would have the potential to wield it.**

**Since your mother was a full fox demon her demonic lineage forcibly pushed the dragon out of her system but a human spirit isn't anywhere near as strong.**

**If I was to put it in simple terms I'd say that since you started using the blade at such a young age your human side was able to sort of……adapt to it, or perhaps absorb it. While your fox side still remains dominant when you use the blades power of light and darkness it has forced the dragon that your human side absorbed out. **

**So congratulations you're the first dragon to exist in over twenty thousand years."**

Naruto stood in the clearing organizing his thoughts. After a few minutes he finally thought.

'_Well this is……surprising'_

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Well here's the new chap I hope I made everyone happy with this set up.

Next chap the plan for the hidden mist.

As for those of you that wonder when Naruto's OC will be showing up be patient it'll happen in one of the next two or three chaps.

Also for those of you waiting for me to update a twist of fate I promise to TRY to have it updated by Friday.


	25. The plan is all set

Well here's the new chap hope you guys like it.

Still for the voting chap I got NINETY-TWO VOTES! Why the hell wont all you evil people review more often? Good god I nearly fainted the next morning when I turned on the computer and found almost fifty or sixty emails.

Also I'm not sure how difficult this is for people to understand. Naruto will have fox tails when he is in his normal form and when he transforms he has dragon tails. No he will not have one fox tail and then a dragon tail and then a fox tail, when he transforms into a full demon form it will not be a cross between a fox and a dragon.

The dragon and the fox are two separate demonic spirits in Naruto's body. Like yin and yang they don't mix.

Anyway lets get on with the story.

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Sakura, Sasuke, Tenten, Lee and Kin were all at the eastern bridge waiting for their last teammate. Sasuke was waiting on the side of the bridge staring off into the river. Sakura was happily talking about the latest gossip with Tenten and Kin was still cursing Naruto for signing her up for this death wish.

She absently looked over to Sasuke. "Hey Uchiha! Why don't you stop brooding and actually speak more than a few sentences a day?" Sasuke turned to her with a small scowl on his face. "Why don't you mind your own buisness?" He told her with a little anger seeping into his voice.

He still didn't fully trust Kin. The girl had tried to kill him once before and there was always a small chance that she was actually working as a spy for sound.

Kin scoffed and sat down on the edge of the bridge still waiting for the blond teammate. After a few minutes she was really starting to get pissed. "Where the hell is that blond haired moron?" She asked to no one in particular.

Suddenly a voice spoke out from behind her. 'Now that's not a nice thing to say about little ol' me is it?" Kin and the others turned around. Kin was about to yell at him but when she came face to face with a _much_ taller blond haired gold eyed man, whatever she was about to yell lodged itself in her throat.

Naruto really couldn't suppress the rather large smirk that crossed his features at the sight of his teammates shocked expressions.

Lee was the first to snap out of his shock. "Na-Naruto-kun is that you?" He asked flabbergasted. Naruto nodded. "It's me Lee." He had to laugh as Lee's jaw lowered just a little more.

"Hmm, now who's this?" A voice that team-seven knew far to well spoke from behind them. Naruto really had to fight down a smirk at this point. He turned around with a blank expression on his face. "Kakashi it's been a long time how have you been?"

Kakashi dropped his precious book and stared at what appeared to be a revived Yondaime. He lifted his Sharingan eye and checked for any Genjutsu when he didn't find any hint of deception and that this was indeed real the great copy ninja of Konoha……fainted.

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A few minutes later Kakashi woke up to be greeted to the sight of Lee, Sakura, Sasuke, Tenten and Kin hovering over him. "Kakashi-sensei are you allright?" Sakura asked with a hint of worry in her voice. Kakashi groaned and sat up. "Just a dream…" He mumbled.

"What was just a dream?" Kakashi froze at the voice. He slowly turned around and laid eyes on a smirking Naruto. He was about to scream since he thought that the ghost of his former sensei had come back from the dead but of course he then noticed the defined whiskers on his cheeks.

His mind quickly processed the information. "Naruto is that you?" Naruto laughed loudly. "You should have seen that dumb look on your face when you saw me the first time. You looked like such an idiot it was hilarious."

Kakashi blinked a few times. "What the hell happened to you." Naruto merely waved his hand dismissively. "Nothing important. Anyway what are you doing here?"

Kakashi blinked a few more times remembering what exactly he came here for. "Well my mission was finished ahead of schedule so the Hokage sent me here to meet you and join up with you guy's."

Naruto smiled. It was indeed a relief to have Kakashi here since they weren't sure what the enemies remaining number were. And not only that having someone of renown among the ranks also raised troop morale. "Well we should get going."

Kakashi nodded and was about to start walking but then something caught his eye and they widened in alarm. "NARUTO IS—IS—IS…" Naruto then noticed what had caught Kakashi's attention. "Yup." He said happily. Just then he remembered something. "Oh yeah Sasuke the Hokage asked me to give you this."

He tossed Sasuke a scroll, which the Uchiha caught effortlessly.He unrolled it and out puffed a neatly folded vest. "Congratulations you made Chuunin." Naruto said with a smile. Sasuke then noticed Naruto's vest hidden beneath his large coat.

"Why is yours different from mine?" He asked raising an eyebrow. Naruto smiled but Kakashi was the one who answered. "That's because its not a chuunin vest its an _elite Jounins_ vest."

The whole teams eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets. Naruto walked out of the gate laughing and smiling while leaving his stupefied teammates behind.

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The trip had been rather uneventful they would travel by day set up camp while someone kept watch and then they would leave the morning after.

At noon on the third day they could finally see the mist village come into view. Naruto and the rest of the team was impressed. Just like Konoha the village had high stone walls and a large Iron gate. But where Konoha had only one wall that surrounded the whole city the mist village was flanked by three large rock faces that stood over a hundred feet high.

The first stone wall led into the main market district and the only way to reach the Kage tower was to cross a large river that passed right between the two of sectors. For normal civilians to cross the only way to the other side was a narrow bridge.

Naruto and his teammates said nothing as they crossed the gate and entered the market plaza where Shinobi's had set up camp and were making some preparations. Naruto couldn't pick up Zabuza or Haku's scent since their were so many people and the smoke from some camp fires were blocking his sense of smell.

So he walked to the nearest mist ninja and asked him where Zabuza was. The mist nin eyed him for a few seconds before he pointed to a nearby tent. Naruto nodded in thanks and walked over to the tent. When he got close two mist nin wearing ANBU masks blocked his path.

"Halt state your buisness." Naruto sighed "I'm here to see Zabuza get out of my way." Naruto started to move forward again but the nins placed their swords at his neck. He sighed. He was tired his back hurt from sleeping on the sharp rocks that surrounded this place and his teammates wanted to strangle him.

He took a deep breath "HEY BOOZEHOUND GET YOUR SORRY ASS OUT HERE."

Kakashi sighed "Diplomacy and subtlety really aren't his strong points are they?" Sasuke and Sakura shook their heads muttering about stupid blonds while Tenten, Lee and Kin watched the scene unfold with blank expressions.

Naruto had to swerve to the side as a massive sword tore through the tent and headed straight for him and nearly decapitated a group of chuunins behind him. Zabuza suddenly walked out of the tent, his eyes burning in silent fury. "I TOLD YOU TO STOP CALLING ME THAT!" He yelled and then took in Naruto's appearance. He raised a curious eyebrow. But it disappeared as soon as Naruto moved his fox tail that was wrapped around his waist and showed it to Zabuza while keeping it from his teammates.

Zabuza sighed and shook his head.

He walked back into the meeting room muttering about never following stupid blond haired abominations from hell through the forest again. Naruto merely grinned and followed him. His teammates shrugged and followed him.

When they entered the now torn open tent they were greeted to six or eight mist nins sitting around a table with a map laid across it. Naruto noticed Haku standing next to the seat Zabuza took. They both smiled and nodded at each other, indicating that they would catch up later.

"Zabuza who are these people?" One mist nin asked while looking at the new arrivals. Zabuza shrugged. "I sent for aid from Konoha. I figured they'd only send Naruto but they sent these other people. Mind introducing brat?"

Naruto nodded. "Fine boozehound. I'm Uzumaki Naruto these people are Haruno Sakura, Rock Lee, Tenten, Tsuchi Kin, Uchiha Sasuke and Hatake Kakashi." He said gesturing to each of them respectively. They all bowed.

Several mist nins eyed Kakashi and Sasuke. "Uchiha? From the Uchiha clan? I heard they were all wiped out." One said eyeing Sasuke. Another spoke up. "I see so Konoha sent Sharingan Kakashi to aid us I am indeed impressed."

Zabuza suddenly looked up. "Demon brothers!" He barked and almost immediately the two gauntlet wearing Chuunins arrived next to him. "Take Naruto's team and help them set up camp. The two demon brothers nodded and led the team outside leaving only Kakashi and Naruto in the camp since they were Jounins.

Zabuza turned his head back to Naruto. "Well now that you're here all we have to do is wait for that idiot brother of yours. Almost as if on cue a swirl of sand appeared in the tent. All the Shinobi inside drew their weapons until they heard Zabuza yell out. "Calm down that's another group of reinforcements.

The swirl of sand dissipated and it revealed Gaara, Temari, Kankuro and Baki.

The three brothers looked at eachother and all smiled. They finally stood together again.

Kakashi and Zabuza noticed the interaction and could almost feel the strong bonds of loyalty these three had for eachother.

"Allright…" Zabuza began. "Now that were all here lets make some plans. He stood up and moved to the map on the table. "From the report we've gotten the Mizukage still has about 180 troops that are still loyal to him including the seven swordsmen of the hidden mist. I'm not sure how good the new members are but I could probably take on anyone of the old group and win. The only one that could beat me was Kisame. We have about 150 ninjas that defected to us when we took the outer wall. With the new ninjas that have arrived from Konoha and Suna I'm sure that we have a good chance of winning."

"I sense a 'but' coming here" Naruto interrupted. Zabuza nodded. "Yeah normally we would be able to walk across the river and then walk up the wall to lay siege directly. But the problem is that the Mizukage has put some kind of Chakra barrier around both the wall and the river. It completely messes our chakra control so it's impossible to walk on it. So the only way for us to make it to the tower is to walk the narrow bridge that leaves us completely exposed. We would probably lose more than half of our forces before were even half way up the wall."

Zabuza paused before continuing. "We were able to capture an enemy messenger that was being sent to cloud village to ask for reinforcements. We were able to find out of a secret mountain pass that will take us directly behind the Kage tower. We wont be able to take the full force through the passage un noticed probably about twenty nins could do it successfully but anything more and we'll be detected for sure. But even if we send a few without the main force causing havoc on the front lines the ninjas will know that something's up and will easily take us down if we were to attack through there without a distraction."

"And now we have a stalemate." Gaara said from his side of the room.

Zabuza nodded and the whole room went deathly quiet. Each member of the group trying to think of a possible solution.

Naruto racked his brain for any possible solution. If they attacked head on the'd be killed if they attacked from the rear the enemy would expect it and most likely kill them all if they tried to attack both directions at once their was a very slim chance of success. But the losses would be so great that the mist would most likely never be able to operate as a hidden village again.

"**Might I make a suggestion?" **Kyuubi chirped from the depths of his mind. Naruto mentally nodded. _'Go ahead'_

Naruto listened to Kyuubi's plan and couldn't help the grin that spread across his face. Gaara Haku and Zabuza all noticed this and raised curious eyebrows.

Naruto suddenly stepped forward and looked at Haku. "Haku do you think you could make a bridge of ice long enough to cross the bridge and wide enough so at least five ninjas can cross it at one time easily?"

Haku looked surprised for a minute. He looked up and thought. "I'm not sure. I've never really tried it before but I suppose it is possible." He mused. Naruto turned to Gaara. "Do you think you could make a bridge of sand?" Gaara nodded without hesitation.

Naruto stepped forward to the table. "Then here's my plan."

Kakashi and the others could only watch dumbfounded as Naruto's personality did a 180 and the boy became a full-blown tactician in less than three minutes.

"The first assault will consist of seventy ninjas. We'll cross the central bridge. The enemy will think that we will be planning a frontal assault and focus their attention there. Then Haku will move in from his bride at the far east side of the wall. He will have thirty ninjas in his force. They will go around the battle and come around to strike the enemy on the east flank.

The mizukage is likely to send some of his bodyguards once this happens Gaara will move around from the west and attack the enemies right flank. The mizukage will either hole himself up with what remains of his guard in the tower or he will strike out at us and take us head on in a full assault.

Either way he will still play right into our hands."

Everyone sent Naruto curious glances Naruto smiled his fox-like grin.

"If you haven't done the math I stated that the main force would consist of seventy ninjas and both Haku and Gaara's teams would consist of thirty ninjas each. You guy's said we possessed about 150 ninjas so that leaves 20 more. Those are the ones that will take the mountain pass and strike at the enemies to from the rear. So while the main force acts as a decoy and keeps the enemy busy. Zabuza will lead the secondary force to strike the Mizukage from behind forcing him to flee directly towards our main force and right into our trap. Thus a pincer is formed to squeeze the life out of the enemy."

The whole group of gathered Shinobi looked at the plan that Naruto had sketched out on the map with wide eyes. The plan was near perfect, they couldn't find a flaw in it.

Naruto saw that they weren't going to object after five minutes and smiled. "The plan is all set." Zabuza was the next one to stand. "Allright we'll start the preparations immediately. Gaara I want you and your teammates to get settled in. Naruto make sure your teammates are ready. I want everything ready in three days. GOT IT?"

All the shinobi nodded and walked out each of them wondering about the strange blond haired man from the leaf.

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Gaara lazily walked out of the tent and moved to find a decent place for him and his teeam to stay. But he didn't make it out three steps before his senses were assaulted by the unmistakable presence that could only belong to_ her_.

'_This isn't happening, this isn't happening, this isn't happening. _He mentally pleaded in his mind while Shukaku continued to laugh his ass off from within his mind. Gaara slowly turned and visibly paled as he laid eyes on the smiling Tenten.

Temari, Kankuro and Naruto couldn't stop snickering while Haku, Baki and Zabuza looked on with confusion. "Hi hoddie!" Ten ten exclaimed as she walked next to him. Temari Kankuro and Naruto burst out laughing while Zabuza Baki and Haku's mouths reached the floor.

Gaara's eyebrow twitched. "How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that infernal name woman. He replied with his usual icy tone. Tenten huffed and crossed her arms. "And how many times do I have to tell you that I like the name so I'm keeping it? All you have to do to make me stop using the name is to merely stop covering those cute ears with the hood."

Naruto Temari and Kankuro couldn't take it anymore and burst out laughing while Haku and Zabuza joined them. Gaara sent them all a glare that could have frozen hell several times over.

Of course Tenten chose the time that he was completely distracted and once again began to pet the ears that she considered cute.

They were all unaffected by Gaara's glare and simply continued laughing their asses off. After a few minutes Zabuza managed to stop his laughter long enough to wipe the tears of mirth from his eyes and spoke.

"Come on guy's lets leave _hoddie_ with his girlfriend here."

A shinobi in stone village shuddered as a massive wave of killer intent suddenly reached him.

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Sakura was absently throwing Kunai to a nearby target. _'Am I really ready for this? Am I really ready to go to war?' _She sighed and threw the last kunai she had to the target. It hit the bulls eye dead center. She started to walk to the target but stopped as she heard a voice from behind her. "That's not bad."

Sakura turned around coming face to face with Haku. Sakura smiled. "Thanks. So what's your name?"

Haku's smile widened a little bit. "My name is Haku and yours?"

"Sakura." She answered simply. Haku smiled and walked over to the kunais and grabbed two of them before walking back to Sakura. He tossed her one and kept the other. "However…you keep your wrist straight when you throw. If you try to flick your wrist you'll get a lot more power and accuracy behind the attack."

With that statement he lazily tossed a kunai which stabbed itself into the bulls-eye with the end slightly sticking out of the other end.

Sakura muttered something under her breath that really sounded like show off but he couldn't be sure. Sakura then tried the same thing and the Kunai did indeed go in about another inch. She huffed and crossed her arms. It kinda irked her that he had been able to do that so easily for some reason.

Haku watched her reaction with mild amusement. He looked at her eyes and whispered softly "You have nice eyes." He said it mostly to himself but Sakura did indeed hear him.

"HEY HAKU! GET YOUR ASS OVER HERE" Cut through the air and shattered whatever moment they may have had. Haku sighed. "Even after so long Naruto will never learn how to shut up. Oh well I must leave I hope to see you around soon Sakura-san"

With that he walked away completely unaware of the light blush that grazed Sakura's cheeks.

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"What the hell does it take to get you to talk?" Kin spoke angrily while glaring at the Uchiha that sat around almost completely ignoring her while paying attention to the soub boiling over the fire.

"If you don't start talking soon people are gonna think your mute."

Silence

"You are truly the most irritating person I know."

More silence.

Then suddenly Sasuke took a breath as if he was going to speak. Kin froze _'He's finally going to speak.' _She thought with something akin to wonder in her thoughts.

"Food…burning" He mumbled just loud enough for her to hear. Kin turned her attention back to the soup to find out that the noddles inside were indeed getting over cooked. She moved her attention back to the soup.

As she did so she missed the small smirk that tugged at the Uchiha's lips.

Lee watched the strange exchange between the two of them with a blank expression on his face.

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Well here's the new chap hope you all enjoy it.


	26. Battle for Kiri

I'M BAAAACCCCKKKK! Miss me? Sorry I'm a little late but I got lost on the road of life now formally known as Europe.

But the wait was worth it because I just thought of another three story lines that I can write. One is a Naru/ Lord of the rings and Naru/starwars crossovers that are actually believable and not only that I thought of a Naruto story plot that has never been tried before.

But alas I have to finish one of the stories that I'm working on before I start that one.

Well here's the new chap hope you like it.

Oh yeah and for those of you waiting the update for A twist of fate, don't worry it's coming.

Well let's get on with the story.

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Naruto stood infront of the long narrow bridge that connected the civilian district with the Kage tower. It was dawn and the morning mist was just beginning to lift it glassy veil over the city.

He looked back at the troops who were just finishing making their preparations for the first assault. "Hey Gaara, Haku1 How are things at your end?" He asked through the radio.

"Were almost done over here." Was Haku's response

"Naruto I swear the second this war is over I will kill you."

"Oh but why would you do something like that to your brother Gaara? Naruto asked with a sickeningly sweet tone in his voice.

"You know very well what I'm talking about. Zabuza put you in charge of splitting up the teams and you put me with that Ten Ten girl. So help me God if I hear that infernal name one more time not even Kyuubi's healing powers will save you!"

Naruto and Haku were really trying not to laugh at Gaara's expense.

"Hey hoodie" Was suddenly heard through the radio and both of them suddenly burst out laughing.

In Gaara's head Shukaku could easily hear_. 'I swear I'm gonna kill that blond haired bastard the second I find him.'_

'**_You know if Naruto would even think of calling him hoodie Gaara would ring his neck without a second thought.' _**The sand demon mused silently.

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Naruto turned off the radio and continued waiting. Suddenly the sound of footsteps reached his ears he turned around slightly and found Kakashi with that stupid book in his hands.

"Yo" He said lazily without taking his eye away from that damn book of his. Naruto could tell the copy ninja had something on his mind. "What's bothering you?"

Kakashi in one of his rare moments closed his book and looked directly at Naruto. "Well I've been wondering…I understand our unit is to be the distraction but still…"

"Your worried about how many losses we'll suffer until Haku's and Gaara's units get there."

Kakashi nodded. "Yes I am. If we could get at least three or four strong ninjas on the wall then they could cause enough of a distraction for the rest of the force to get up on the wall. You and I could probably get up there easily even with the chakra barrier that doesn't let us walk up the wall. The problem is getting another three people up there."

Naruto smiled, causing Kakashi to raise an eyebrow. "You already have a plan don't you?" The copy ninja stated more than asked. Naruto bit his thumb and made a familiar set of hand seals and suddenly three black, two tailed foxes along with one three tailed black fox with gold lines that went from his head to the tip of his tails poofed into existence. Each one of the three, two tailed foxes was the size of a horse, with the three tailed being just a little bigger.

Kakashi's eyes went wide and he backed up a little bit in something that was a mixture of amazement and fear. He had never seen a fox summoning before. After the sand sound attack he had heard rumors but he had ignored them as mere gossip.

The largest fox looked around and finally laid eyes on Naruto. "Naruto-sama, to what do we owe this honor?" The fox said with what Naruto assumed was a bow. Naruto pointed to the city walls. "We are currently laying siege to that fortress. In order to secure a path for our main force you and the others will take one human over the wall and cause chaos in the enemy ranks. Understood?"

The fox looked in the direction of the wall and nodded. "Understood Naruto-sama. May I ask which are the humans?"

Naruto pointed at Kakashi. "That's one." The fox turned around and laid eyes on Kakashi, who continued to stare with a slightly shocked expression. He slowly raised his hand and waved "Hi."

The fox leaned in real close to his face and started sniffing, causing Kakashi to become acutely aware of the rather large two inch fangs poking out of the foxes mouth. "He smells of dogs." The dog said with a slightly angry tone causing Kakashi to really wish he was somewhere else at the moment.

"I'm gonna go get the other two you'll be getting." Naruto said as he started walking away. But Kakashi's voice suddenly called out to him. "I'll get them!" He half yelled half squeaked.

Naruto turned back to him. "Are you sure? I can get them really."

"Oh don't bother yourself I'll do it just tell me who you want me to get." He said as he tried edging his way around the fox.

Naruto thought for a moment. "Lee and Sasuke I don't really trust any of these mist nins since I don't know them and I really don't want the girls to get hurt.

Kakashi instantly vanished in a puff a smoke, desperate to get away from the large fox that was currently looking at him like a chew toy.

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A few minutes later Kakashi had reappeared with Sasuke and Lee and Naruto had told them of what he was planning to do. After the explanation Sasuke looked at the fox that he was supposed to ride and back to Naruto several times.

Lee smiled brightly and began yelling. "YOSH NARUTO THE FLAMES OF YOUTH BURNS BRIGHTLY WITHIN YOU! YOU HAVE COME UP WITH ANOTHER MAGNIFICENT PLAN. YOU ARE INDEED A WORTHY RIVAL!"

He finished off with his 'ping' smile.

Fortunately or unfortunately depending on your perspective. One of the mist nin guarding the fortress was at the wrong place at the wrong time. Lee's ping smile bounced off his teeth and hit the ninja in the eyes. "AAAHHHHHH MY EYES!" The nin yelled as he fell off the wall and down to the solid concrete below, breaking several bones in the process.

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About an hour later. "Are we ready?" Naruto asked one of the mist nin commanders. The man put his hands together and bowed a little. "We are all ready to begin the operation Naruto-dono." Naruto nodded. "All right then.

He moved and got on the three tailed fox and unsheathed his sword. He pointed it to the sky and a bright beam of light flew into the air and exploded.

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Haku looked up at the sky and narrowed his eyes. He swiftly turned to the others "Come on the operation's starting. I want everyone armed and ready for combat.

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Gaara looked to the signal flare and then turned to his siblings along with his sensei Baki. "Get going." The three of them nodded and suddenly vanished. Gaara started to walk off until he heard Tenten's voice.

"So I guess it's starting."

Gaara turned to her with a blank expression. "Yes it is don't expect me to save you all the time you get in trouble."

Tenten snorted and walked right past him. "See if you can keep up _hoodie._"

Gaara started following her _'It's official I'm killing that blond bastard.'_

Contrary to his own thoughts Gaara didn't even notice the small smile tugging at his lips.

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Fifteen miles away on the hidden passage Zabuza saw the bright flare. "So it begins." He muttered to himself before turning back to the fifteen or so ninja with him. "Let's move!"

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Naruto and the other three were about to move forward but suddenly…

"WHAT THE HELL?"

They all turned around to find a fuming Kin and Sakura. "What the hell is going on? You guy's were just gonna leave without us?" Naruto laughed a bit nervously " Yeah well…I didn't want you two getting hurt so I didn't want to take you on the first charge.

Kin walked forward and Naruto could have sworn some grass burnt to ash where her feet had stepped. "You listen to me you blond bastard I walked all the way from Konoha for this I am not going to just sit around here and wait for you assholes to get back."

With that she looked at the available seats. The spandex wearing kid that kinda creped her out with those eyebrows and bright teeth. The pervert sensei who could possibly be a pedophile the blond bastard she was currently pissed off with and the Uchiha.

Weighing her options she walked over to Sasuke's fox. Sasuke eyed her with a curious expression. "What are you doing?"

Kin glared at him with a look that could have scared Satan himself. "I am sitting down got a problem?" With a look that clearly said she would do bodily harm if he protested Sasuke wisely stayed quiet.

Sakura sighed at Kin's antics and walked over to Kakashi's fox. God knows Lee had a crush on her and she didn't want to give him the wrong idea. And Naruto's fox really didn't seem like the kind of fox that would accept having two people riding him.

Naruto looked back at them and waited until everyone was settled. "Ready?" They all nodded.

"THEN LET'S GO!" He yelled. His fox roared loudly and started charging. The other foxes started charging with the allied mist nins right behind them.

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A mist in on the watch tower saw their approach. "THEIR COMING! EVERYONE INTO BATTLE POSITIONS!"

The ninja started ringing a bell and as fast as a heart beat ninja swarmed into the streets fully armored and running up to the city walls.

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Naruto was only half way across the narrow bridge when Kunai and Shuriken darkened the sky in the thousands. The kunai and Shuriken flew right over his head. He was sometimes forced to block one or two with his sword but nothing much. The ninjas were throwing blindly hoping to gain kills with sheer numbers not aim.

When the fox was just twenty feet away from the gate he suddenly leaped up and dug his claws right into the stone. And then with a second leap went over the wall.

One ninja tried to throw a kunai at the creature but the fox came down and bit the man right in the neck, ripping through the flesh with ease while his hind leg crushed another ninja's skull.

When the fox landed Naruto chopped off the head of another ninja. He started swinging his sword to all of the ninjas on either side of him while the fox continued to lash out with teeth, claws and tails.

Another ninja some distance away was taking aim with a kunai. He got ready to throw when suddenly.

"Konoha-senpu."

Lee's foot slammed into his face and threw him clear over the edge of the wall. Lee landed on the ground and took a fighting stance as the fox he was riding landed behind him with another ninja hanging limply from his mouth.

Kakashi leaped down from the fox with Sakura grabbing onto his back and stabbed two ninja in their skulls with kunai. Sakura let go of him as soon as they landed. Kakashi turned around and saw a ninja moving to attack Sakura from behind.

He grabbed her by her shoulders and used her as leverage. He flipped over her and kicked the ninja right in the face. He turned around again and saw that Sakura had her hands crisscrossed with her palms open.

Kakashi grabbed her hands and started spinning her. Sakura's foot slammed into several mist nin that were approaching them. Kakashi suddenly let her go. Since her hands were crisscrossed it caused her to flip sideways several times in mid air and land on her feet. She stumbled a little bit and turned back to Kakashi with a smile on her face. Kakashi gave one of his own lazy smiles and gave her a thumbs up.

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The allied mist nins had finally managed to get up the wall and began fighting the Mizukage's forces.

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The Mizukage looked at the battle unfolding just a few hundred yards away from his tower

He turned to one of his officers. "Send the reserves they must not gain a foothold. Understand?"

The officer nodded and vanished in a puff of smoke.

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As Sasuke and Kin still rode above the fox Sasuke started making some hand seals. He yelled out to the fox. "Start spinning!" The fox was confused but did as he was told. **"Katon Gokakyuu no jutsu"** Sasuke blew out a massive fire ball out of his mouth and with the spin of the fox the flames spread out all around them.

Kin and Sasuke suddenly got off of the fox and Sasuke prepared to through kunai with wires attached and threw them in a wide arc. He then did some more handseals **"Katon Ryuuka no jutsu."**

Flames shot out of his mouth and followed the trail of wires burning several mist nins in the process.

Kin threw her own wires with the bells attached to them and began throwing more kunai to other mist nins that were deceived by her genjutsu.

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Naruto cut another mist nin from atop the fox he was riding and then noticed a large group of enemy nins coming towards them. He pointed his sword to the sky again and another signal flare went off.

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Haku saw the signal. "Okay" He took a deep breath and extended his hand toward the water with a look of absolute concentration on his face. The temperature suddenly dropped and the water in the river rose up and began to freeze making a large bridge of ice it took almost a full five minutes but he eventually completed it while the soldiers watched in fascination.

When the bridge was done Haku walked onto it and turned back to his soldiers. "COME ON!" The soldiers snapped out of their daze and began running up the river of Ice with chakra.

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Naruto jumped up into the air and started making handseals **"Katon: Karyuu Endan"** A massive dragon lit the floor in flames. Blocking the path of the enemy reinforcements. "That should hold them off for now."

He was forced to move back as a sword very nearly stabbed him in the side of his head. He elbowed the ninja in the gut and then slit his throat when he doubled over due to the pain.

Naruto turned around in time to see two nins attacking him. He blocked the sword that one was using with his own and then side stepped to avoid the Kunai of another. He jumped back and landed on the roof of a building.

He turned around and found eight or so mist nins infront of him. He turned around again to go the other way but eight more nins showed up with swords drawn. Naruto stopped and turned his head from one group to the next. "Well this is a situation isn't it?"

A jounin that was sneaking up on him suddenly had his throat slit. "Indeed it is." Came Haku's calm voice. Naruto turned to him with a foxy grin plastered on his face. "Eight on the left, eight on the right, which side do you want?"

Haku looked at the sixteen shinobi to either side of them and sighed. "I'll take the left."

Both ninja's suddenly vanished and the eight shinobi's on the left were suddenly surrounded in a dome of Ice mirrors.

Haku's images suddenly appeared in all the mirrors. "You are now in my prison of Ice. Your chances of escaping…are zero." All of the Haku images seemed to flicker for a moment. The men were confused but the confusion was cleared up as one of their comrades suddenly fell to the floor his head rolling to the feet of another.

All of the Shinobi tensed and braced themselves. Each one had heard of the bloodline known as the demonic Ice mirrors and were very fearful of it.

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Naruto charged at the other eight shinobi and sheathed his sword and formed his flame whip in his hand.

One ninja moved to stab him but as soon as the blade was going to come in contact with the skin Naruto flickered out of existence and reappeared just a few inches to the side of the blade.

Before the man could blink Naruto roughly grabbed him by the neck and slammed him into the roof with such force the man crashed through the roof and into the house below.

Naruto jumped back as a hail of kunai stabbed themselves on the place he was standing. He got to the edge of the roof and made a large leap back. As he descended he made his whip longer and brought it down right on the house he was standing on. The whip cut right through the building making it collapse.

Most of the ninjas were able to get out of the way except for two inexperienced chuunins that went down with the building.

Naruto stared at the rubble and then to the other five ninjas that were charging at him. He got into a ready stance with the foxy grin making him look slightly creepier than Orochimaru. "Don't make it too easy for me!"

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The Mizukage stared angrily from the top of the tower as he saw Haku's unit slam into the side of his forces. "Send in the Anbu immediately!" He barked making his assistant jump and run out of the room.

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Naruto saw the five ninjas coming at him and his gaze turned into something that would look feral on an animal.

A small voice in the back of his head spoke. **_Kill_**

Kyuubi heard the voice and grumbled. **"So his demonic instincts have awakened. I will have to teach him how to suppress it once the fight is over."**

The first ninja that reached Naruto came in with a kunai. Naruto grabbed his wrist and yanked his arm to the side. He used his arm to block the sword strike of another. The end result was his arm being sliced off. Naruto kept hold of the guys arm and looked to the ninja that had chopped it off with a really dumb look on his face. "Now see what you did? If your not careful you'll poke someone's eyes out with that."

The man snarled and tried to swing at Naruto again. Nauto sidestepped and kicked the man in the gut making him double over in pain. A third ninja moved to attack with a kunai. Naruto blocked it with his sword and made a motion that made the blade pass by his side.

He punched the ninja in the face and then kicked a fourth ninja that was trying to sneak up behind him. He turned on his heel just in time to see a sword stab itself in his chest.

The ninja smiled but it disappeared as soon as he saw Naruto's smile. Instead of disappearing in a puff of smoke the clone suddenly exploded taking out half of the building as well as the ninjas standing above it.

The real Naruto stood over on a nearby rooftop. "Well that's over."

"Not very subtle are you?" Naruto turned to see Haku standing behind him with a bored/annoyed expression on his face. "Signal Gaara I can sense movement in the tower." Naruto nodded he once again threw another signal flare into the sky.

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Gaara saw the flare and immediately started concentrating. He drew up the sand at the bottom of the river and right before everyone's eyes a bridge of sand formed over the river. The men cheered and ran through the bridge. Gaara and the others followed. But a sudden thought struck him. _'Where is Tenten?'_

He looked around and then he looked over to the end of the bridge and found Tenten looking at him with a smirk on her features. She waved once before jumping over the wall. Gaara's left eyebrow twitched. _'That idiot is going to get herself killed.' _He formed his spear of sand and ran across the bridge, with his siblings following closely behind.

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Gaara soon came over the wall and looked around the on going battle for Tenten. He didn't have to look long because when about two-hundred or so kunai, shuriken, spears, and other assorted weapons poofed into existence and headed right into a line of enemy ninjas.

Gaara found her and used his spear to block a kunai a ninja had thrown at her and then used his sand to crush the ninja while Tenten wasn't looking.

"Hi Hoodie." Tenten said cheerfully as she threw more kunai. Suddenly Gaara was very happy that their were so many enemy ninja to kill.

Gaara took a single step back as a ninja tried to cut him with a short sword.

"How"

He elbowed the ninja in the gut.

"many"

He hit him in the back of the knee with the but of his spear, causing him to kneel.

"times"

He brought his knee straight up, hitting him in the chin.

"do I"

He then swerved to the side and sliced the mans neck.

"have to tell you to stop calling me that damn name?"

Tenten smiled cutely. "Maybe I should call you Hoodie-chan?"

Gaara's eyebrow was twitching out of control. He saw about twenty or so enemy nin in the distance. He brought up his fist. "Sabaku kyuu"

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The mizukage saw Gaara flank the right wing of his army and growled out in anger. "Order all units to retreat we will bolster our defense at the tower!"

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Haku blocked a kunai from one of the enemy ninjas. He stabbed him in his forearm, causing the man's arm to go deathly blue due to the freezing effects of his daggers.

Haku then sliced the man's neck as a horn was heard from the tower.

"RETREAT! FALL BACK TO THE CORTYARD!"

Haku looked around and noticed all of the enemies were either retreating or being cut down in the process.

Haku looked over and saw Naruto and was able to see the cloaked form of Gaara in the distance. "NARUTO! WE HAVE TO CUT OFF THEIR RETREAT!"

Naruto heard Haku and then turned to Gaara. "GAARA THROW SOME STONES AT THEM!"

Gaara heard Naruto and then brought up two large clumps of sand. The size of boulders he compressed them and they soon became sand stone.

He tossed both boulders to where the largest group of enemy nins were trying to get through. Haku took out two vials of black liquid and tossed them expertly at the two boulders. The vials shattered and covered the sand stone in the black liquid.

Naruto then made some handseals **"Katon Karyuu endan" **A large stream of fire came from his mouth and engulfed the two boulders. The two massive balls of fire crashed into the street and exploded blanketing the street and surrounding buildings in flames. Half of the enemy ninjas had gotten across but the other half were still behind the wall of flames.

Naruto, Gaara and Haku all grinned evilly they each appeared a few feet away from the enemies. "Bet I kill more than you." Naruto said with the wide smirk still on his face. Haku and Gaara looked at each other. "Your on!"

The three boy's charged right into the angry mob with weapons drawn.

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Naruto jumped into the air and flipped in mid air. He landed in the middle of a group of ninja and extended his flame whip. He started spinning rapidly chopping all of them to pieces.

He turned around and blocked a side swipe aimed at his head. He jumped over a second blade and kicked the ninja in the face. He landed and ducked under the blade of the ninja who tried to swing at him the first time.

As the ninja tried to swing again Naruto grabbed him by his forearm and then with his free hand he formed a perfect Rasengan and shoved it into his gut. It sent the man flying back while spinning. He crashed into several of his comrades before he came to a stop. The ninja's moved to attack again but Naruto jumped high into the air and came back down with two Rasengans and slammed them into the earth creating a large explosion.

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Gaara was immediately surrounded by the ninja's he was fighting. He stood in a ready stance while his eyes darted from left to right, watching all of the enemies.

One ninja came from infront of him a little to the left. The ninja moved to throw a kunai but Gaara's spear shot out like lightning and stabbed him in the throat. The man choked on his own blood before he fell in a heap.

Another ninja attacked again from the front. Gaara moved fast and swiped his feet from underneath him. When the man fell a kunai could be seen lodged in his neck.

Another ninja came directly from his left side. Gaara saw him at the last minute and hit him in the face with the but of his spear. Four more ninja's charged straight at him. Gaara pushed chakra into his arms and swung as hard as he could. With the added strength his chakra provided he was able to cut through each of the four ninja's armor making a diagonal line across their chest.

Gaara was going to continue his assault but then he saw Naruto jump into the air and form two bright spheres of chakra. He didn't know what it was but if it involved him then it probably meant that a few city blocks would be in dire need of repair.

He leapt away as fast as he could.

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Haku charged right into the mist ranks. He kept dodging and weaving out of enemy attacks. A ninja tried to swing at Haku. Haku caught his wrist and then twisted his arm, putting it against his body. Then with his free hand he punched the ninja in the face three times.

He yanked him forward by his arm. With this movement Haku then jumped up and used the mans back to flip over him. He then kicked another ninja in the face using the same movement. He picked up his foot and kicked the ninja he flipped over in the face.

He turned on his heel and slit the throat of another ninja with one of his daggers and with the second one he blocked another ninja's sword and then pushed it to the side to block a second sword.

He stepped on both swords and let go of his dagger and made a few one handed seals. Five ice spikes formed out of thin air and skewered the two ninja's. He grabbed his dager and then saw Naruto leap into the air and form a ball.

He saw Gaara leap back and decided it was a good idea to follow.

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Naruto emerged from the crater he had created with a foxy grin in place. "Looks like I win." Both of the other boys snorted simultaneously. Haku spoke up next. "Let's get into the courtyard the enemies are bracing themselves there and Zabuza will be here so…"

Right on cue the sound of battle could be heard coming from the courtyard.

"COME ON! GIVE ME A REAL FIGHT YOU USELESS WEAKLINGS!"

Naruto, Gaara and Haku all sighed. Naruto spoke up. "Come on lets go before the boozehound gets himself killed."

"DON'T CALL ME THAT!"

Naruto sweatdropped "How does he do that?"

They all ran over the flames and into the courtyard.

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It didn't take them long to find Zabuza since all they had to do was follow the constant curses and screams. And the fact that his sword stuck out like a sore thumb helped.

"Zabuza!" They all exclaimed. Zabuza turned to them. "What the hell took you? Come on the path to the tower is clear now!"

With that Zabuza turned on his heel and ran past the crowd of fighting ninja's and up the steps that led to the main tower. They got past the main gate and entered a wide open space there were about twenty Anbu clad in black armor standing between them and the tower. Gaara addressed them.

"You guy's keep going to the Mizukage I'll deal with them." Zabuza turned to him "You sure? We can deal with them together."

Gaara shook his head. "No keep moving if we linger the mizukage can escape and I personally don't want to have to do this again."

Zabuza nodded and Naruto Haku and he all pumped chakra to their legs and leapt over the Anbu. The Anbu moved to pursue but a wall of sand came up from the ground blocking their path. They all turned back to Gaara. "Your opponent is me"

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They got to the main steps but stopped when they saw a figure standing about halfway up the steps. It was an old man with a long white beard and hair. His hair reached about half way down his back and his beard reached up to his chest. He was clad in a blue hakama and a dark blue robe which was decorated with gold dragons. He wielded a Naginata which at the base of the blade was the head of a gold dragon.

Zabuza's breath caught in his breath and his eyes went wide. He took a step back in slight fear. The two boy's saw his reaction and were curious as to who this man was.

Naruto decided to ask. "Zabuza who is he?"

Zabuza took a few seconds to catch his breath before he answered. "I don't suppose you've ever head of Kiri's blue dragon?"

Both of them shook their heads, earning a sigh from the demon of the hidden mist. "I didn't think so he was before your time. Back during the great shinobi war Kumo and Iwa were pressuring Kiri to attack Konoha. When the Sandaime Mizukage finally said no they sent a combined force of up to three hundred ninja to attack.

Their was a long pause and Naruto was about to tell him to continue but Zabuza cut him off. "Not a single one of those ninja made it within a hundred feet of the city."

Naruto and Haku's eyes widened. They then heard the sound of clapping and turned to look at the old man.

"You flater me too much Zabuza."

Zabuza narrowed his eyes at him. "But I don't understand you frequently argued with the Sandaime Mizukage to remove the law of academy students having to kill as a graduating exam. It was infact the reason the council chose him over you for the position of Mizukage. So why are you supporting it now?"

"Because Zabuza I must see for myself if you are worthy enough to achieve your dream. The old man took a stance. Consider this your final test."

Naruto looked at Zabuza. "What does he mean by final test? Has he tested you before?"

Zabuza laughed a little. "I would hope so…he was my sensei."

The old man smiled sadly before he vanished in a blur.

He charged at Zabuza at full speed. Zabuza wouldn't have enough time to dodge. He closed his eyes waiting for the pain but a sudden clang echoed through the courtyard. Zabuza opened his eyes and saw Haku holding back the old man's Naginata blade with his two daggers.

"GET GOING I'LL DEAL WITH THIS."

Zabuza and Naruto nodded before continuing. Before they were out of earshot Zabuza yelled back. "I SWEAR IF YOU GET YOURSELF KILLED I'LL SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE."

Haku laughed but the old man used his distraction and jumped back a few feet away. The old man bowed formally. "I am known as Koroku I would like to know the name of the warrior I am about to fight."

Haku bowed in return. "I am Haku."

The old man eyed him. "Haku…I can see in your eyes a kindness that is rare in this world yet with that kindness I see the resolve of a true warrior. I will be honored to fight you.

"The honor is mine."

Both of them took a stance.

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Naruto and Zabuza kept running. When they got into the tower Naruto's sharp ears caught a slight wising sound. Naruto stopped just as an Arrow very nearly caught him in the head.

He turned and barely saw the silhouette of a person hiding in the shadows. "Keep going Zabuza I got this." Zabuza nodded and continued to ascend the stairs. Naruto turned to his attacker. "So do I get to see your face or are you gonna keep hiding in the shadows?"

The person started walking out of the shadows. And it really wasn't what Naruto was expecting.

It was a girl probably no older than sixteen. She was about 4 or 5 inches shorter than he was. She had blue eyes with black hair wrapped in a pony tail that resembled Ino's. She was wearing a tight fitting white and gold vest with a tight blue shirt underneath. She was using a very large Bow that was blue around the area where one grabed it and the rest of it was white with the edges of it sharpened to be used as blades. She was wearing a forehead protector that was white with gold designs of vines and leaves on it.

But that wasn't the surprising part it was the fact that the forehead protector belonged to Kumo not Kiri. Naruto narrowed his eyes _'What the hell? What are Kumo nin's doing here? Bah it doesn't matter.'_

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Zabuza ran all the way up to the top of the tower. H kicked open the door and came face to face with the Mizukage of Kiri. "Hello Zabuza"

Zabuza narrowed his eyes. "Hello……father"

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Well here's the update. Hope you all liked it

I'll try to update fast but vacation has practically ended. But don't worry I will complete all the fics I start


	27. My dream is complete

Well I'm glad you all liked the last chapter here's the new one.

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Gaara stood facing the twenty Anbu with his spear in a tense stance. The Anbu all drew their swords and waited for him to make the first move. Gaara narrowed his eyes and then charged at them. The Anbu's charged at him as well.

When Gaara was only a few feet away from the group of Anbu he suddenly grabbed his cloak and threw it in the face of the ninja right infront of him.

With Gaara's cloak covering his view the Anbu wasn't able to stop Gaara from stabbing him in the chest. Gaara continued to push down with the sear making the Anbu fall on his back. Gaara then used his spear as a pole vault.

When he was as high as his spear would take him Gaara pushed chakra into his arms and was able to pull his spear, with the Anbu still attached to it, over his head and slam the unfortunate Anbu right on top of another one.

Gaara landed and immediately delivered a sharp kick to another Anbu that was standing on his right. He saw three Anbu coming to attack him directly. Gaara used the flat side of his spear and hit two of them in the face. He then thrusted his spear forward in an attempt to stab the third one. The Anbu was barely able to side step in time. The Anbu immediately grabbed Gaara's spear and the other two grabbed it as well.

Gaara smirked and pushed chakra into the spear. He used his chakra to soften the handle of it and pulled back bending the spear. He then cut off the flow of chakra. The result was the spear sling shooting him towards another group of Anbu and slicing the hands and arms of the three that were holding it.

Gaara flipped in mid air and managed to catch one Anbu's head between his ankles. He twisted his body backwards and did a back flip slamming the Anbu's head into the pavement.

Gaara jumped straight up to dodge an Anbu's sword. _'Well might as well give it a try' _He thought as he took in a deep breath. **"Futon Renkudan (Drilling air bullet)" **He yelled as he released a large wind ball from his mouth towards the Anbu below. It was nowhere near as strong as the original Shukaku's but the explosion it created when it hit the ground was good enough to take down a few Anbu.

Most of the Anbu were able to get away but four of them were caught in the blast.

Gaara landed on the ground coughing and wheezing. Inside his mind he could hear that annoying Tankui **"Hahahahaha…you feeling allright? Don't worry the same thing happened to me the first time I tried it." **_'Remind me never to do that again.'_

Gaara forced himself to stop his wheezing and prepared to face the other thirteen Anbu that now surrounded him.

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Haku and Koroku stood in the courtyard each one of them as still as a statue.

Koroku broke the silence. "I must ask you…why do you serve Zabuza? Haku relaxed his stance a little and spoke in a calm voice. "As you know those that had a bloodline were considered monsters after a certain point in time. Zabuza was the first to see me as human being. He has been more of a father to me than anyone else ever has.

Koroku nodded. "I see. A generals strength is reflected on his subordinates if you can defeat me then I have no doubt Zabuza's dream can be realized." Thye old man took a stance. "Come show me the strength that Zabuza can command."

Haku took a stance and charged straight at Koroku. Haku jumped and tried to slice at the old man's neck. Koroku moved his Naginata and blocked. Then with his free hand he grabbed Haku by his wrist and used the boy's own momentum to throw him to the side.

Haku flipped in mid air and landed on his feet he lunged at the Koroku again. The old man jumped in mid air, making Haku pass right beneath him. He twisted his body so he would be looking down at Haku. He tried to swing at Haku's now exposed back but as he swung a mirror of ice appeared and stopped his strike.

Haku's reflection suddenly appeared in the mirror and started throwing senbon at Koroku. The old man saw the senbon neddles coming at him and he started rapidly spinning his naginata infront of him. The blade stopped all of the senbon's since it was spinning so rapidly.

The old man landed lightly on his feet. "The demonic Ice mirrors…so that is the bloodline you belong to. I heard they were all wiped out. It seam's they were mistaken. I am glad the ignorance of human's can be quite disgusting.

Haku stepped out of the ice mirror. "Indeed it can…" He took out his two daggers again and spun them in his hand. "Now shall we get serious?" The old man smiled and took his own stance.

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Naruto looked at the girl infront of him with an unreadable expression on his face. He took out his sword and took a stance. "So do I get to hear your name?"

The girl suddenly charged at Naruto, which surprised him since she used a bow and arrow he thought she would try to keep her distance. She tried to swing her bow to Naruto's legs. Naruto knew that the bow had a bladed edge so he cartwhelled over it.

He landed on his feet and quickly tried to swing at the girl. She jumped over his swing and when Naruto looked up he was looking straight at the tip of an arrow. Naruto saw the girl smirk. She was about to release the arrow when Naruto's hand shot out like lightning and grabbed both the arrow and her hand with deathly force.

The girl winced a little in pain but she soon covered it up with a glare. She let go of the string of the bow and grabbed a kunai from her pouch. She tried to stab Naruto in the face but Naruto took outy his own Kunai and blocked it. He then dropped the kunai and grabbed her wrist.

He looked at the point of the kunai and the arrow head he was still holding with the other hand "Now see this silent attitude is really starting to get annoying. I would like to know your name."

The girls glare intensified to the point Naruto though flames were appearing in the background.

With strength that Naruto never thought someone so small could possess, without Tsunade's training, the girl managed to shift her position enough to kick Naruto in the stomach.

Naruto clutched his stomach by reflex but because of that he had released the hand holding the Kunai. The girl used the opportunity and cut up his other hand forcing him to release her and her bow from his grip.

She leaped back and pulled out three arrows and shot them. Naruto blocked all of them with his sword. Each of the arrows landed next to him. He moved to charge at her but suddenly he saw a smirk cross her face and felt a sudden tingle move up his spine.

Their was a pop sound and Naruto turned around to find three clones all aiming their bows at him.

With a start he realized what had happened _'The arrows were all bunshins' _All the clones fired at him. Naruto swiftly blocked all of the arrows and turned around on his heel.

The original had also fired an arrow Naruto turned around and swiftly caught the arrow in his hand He continued turning and did a 360. Throwing the arrow right back at the original.

The arrow hit but the girl disappeared in a puff of smoke. Naruto turned back to the three clones. _'She must have replaced herself with one of her clones but which one. _

His eyes darted from one clone to the next. The clones once again took out arrows. Naruto decided just to wing it and attacked all three of them.

He charged at the one on the far left. The clone shot at him but Naruto swerved to the side in mid run letting the arrow pass him harmlessly. He grabbed the clone, or what he assumed was a clone, by the neck. He turned on his heel and paced the clone right in the way of the second clones arrow shot. The arrow hit and as expected the clone disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Naruto moved fast and stabbed the second clone with his sword right through the forehead protector. Again another puff of smoke._ That last one has to be the real her_

Naruto's sharp ears caught the sound of the girl shooting an arrow into the smoke. He jumped straight up and came down on her He grabbed her and threw her to the floor. He pointed his sword right over neck. "Looks like I win."

The girl smirked "You should mind your surroundings." She said and Naruto couldn't help but think that her voice was very beautiful. But her words confused him.

The confusion was cleared up as the girl he was holding his sword against vanished in a puff of smoke and he felt an arrow lodge in his side. He gasped in pain and clutched his side right beneath his ribs. He turned and glared at the girl that was standing just a few feet away with a triumphant smirk on her face.

Her smirk didn't last long. When she saw Naruto pull out the arrow and saw the wound close up she grew wary of this ninja standing infront of her. That shot shoud have at the very least crippled him but it seemed like nothing more than a mere discomfort judging by the way he was moving.

Naruto looked at the spot where her arrow had struck. It was no more than a small tingling sensation now. He turned back to the girl and took a fighting stance.

The girl gritted her teeth in anger. What the hell was this guy anyway? No one should be able to stand up so quickly after getting an arrow to the ribs. Naruto smiled a little at her. "So now that I know that you can actually talk how about you finally tell me your name.?"

She took out three arrows. "No thanks" She said as she shot them. Naruto tensed but none of the three arrows hit him they merely passed him by and stabbed themselves into the wall at the other end of the hall.

It was then that Naruto caught sight of the wires that were attached to the arrows. His eyes widened. One wire was directly above him and the other two were to his left and right. He turned back and found the girl already making handseals.

He went to jump out but she had already finished the handseals. **"Raigeki"** Lightning came out of her hand and flowed through the wires she was holding. The lightning spread through the wires and created something that resembled a storm trapped in a tunnel.

Naruto was hit full force with the attack. He screamed in pain as hundreds of volts of lightning coursed through his body.

The girl held the jutsu as long as she possibly could but soon lost concentration and the lightning spread out everywhere making a huge explosion. She covered her eyes. When the explosion cleared she looked back and found Naruto laying face down on the floor covered in burn marks.

She sighed in relief and started walking away when she suddenly heard a deep throated growl coming from right behind her.

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Zabuza stood infront of the Mizukage. "It's been a long time hasn't it?" He asked.

The Mizukage smiled behind his mask "Indeed it has but I am curious…do you mind telling me why you are doing all this?"

Zabuza narrowed his eyes at him. "Because you bastard these…rules, laws and disciplines you have so firmly set in place have no place in this world. And I have come to put an end to it."

"Tsk,tsk,tsk…Just like your foolish mother." Zabuza gritted his teeth and griped the handle of Kubikiri so hard he was actually wondering if it would break. "Don't. You. Dare. Talk. About. Her. You. Son of a bitch!"

The Mizukage raised a curious eyebrow at him. "Oh and why shouldn't I? She was my wife after all. I have every right to talk about her."

"You lost that right the moment your kunai slit her throat." He growled out with pure rage in his voice.

"Ahh I see you found out about that. Well it was unavoidable she was threatening everything I had worked to establish with her foolish ideologies so I was forced to eliminate her."

"You're nothing but a heartless monster and it's time you died."

The Mizukage sighed "You possess the same foolish ideologies as her." He removed his Kage robes and took a fighting stance with two kunai in his hands.

What the Mizukage failed to realize was that when he took off his robes it obscured his vision enough for Zabuza to make handseals without him noticing.

Zabuza smirked and suddenly a huge dragon made of water crashed through the roof of the building and headed straight for the Mizukage. The Mizukage's eyes widened in surprise. He reflexively jumped out of the balcony and stuck to the wall using chakra. Zabuza jumped through the new sunroof of the office and ran to the edge of the building where the balcony was and found him running up the wall.

The Mizukage threw his two kunai at him. Zabuza back stepped to avoid the blades. This movement gave the Mizukage enough of an opening to get on the roof and sweep kick Zabuza's feet right out from under him.

Zabuza tried to swing at the Mizukage from his position on the floor with his sword but the Mizukage jumped over it and landed on the other side of the roof.

Zabuza got back on his feet and took his fighting stance. The Mizukage unrolled a scroll and out poofed a large double edged sword. "I knew that some day you would betray me I could see it in your eyes. You always stared at me with cold eyes. But what you fail to realize son is that you and I are exactly the same."

"You may be right" Zabuza admitted "I think I would have turned out to be just like you I think I may have become a father who turns his son into a weapon. But…I have not one but three sons and I would never turn them into weapons or tools as you did to me. The difference is that I allow them to make their own lives, their own decisions and their own mistakes. And I will be there to support them if they allow it. But you are nothing but a heartless monster that just wants to further his own ambitions by any means necessary. And that is why I will not lose to you."

'_Dear God I pray Naruto didn't hear that he'd never let me live it down.'_

The Mizukage laughed harshly. "You've become weak while I have remained strong. I will kill you now and rebuild the nation twice as strong as it was before. And unlike before my people will be organized…obedient…and neither foolish ideologies nor weak shinobi will plague it!" He ended with his face twisted into a sneer as he took his fighting stance and both father and son charged at each other.

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Gaara stood surrounded by the thirteen Anbu that remained.

A few of the younger more inexperienced Anbu, were the first to charge at Gaara. The first came to attack him from behind. He ran as swiftly and as silently as he could. Gaara heard his footsteps.

He was pretty good in stealth Gaara had to admit. But he was far to impatient in this kind of battle, where stealth doesn't count. The ninja brought his sword up in preparation to deliver a death blow to his back.

Naruto turned himself slightly. He then swiftly brought up his spear that he held in his left hand and blocked the Anbu's sword and he then pushed the Anbu back. The opening in his guard was the opportunity Gaara took. He swiftly grabbed the ninja's sword in his right hand and chopped the ninja in half with it.

All this without moving from where he had originally stood.

Another Anbu gave a cry of rage and charged at Gaara again. Two young Anbu thought the odds would be in their favor if they joined the fray and followed.

Gaara watched as the three Anbu charged at him. He used his left hand and did a few one handed seals.

As the first ninja reached him and tried to attack him using Kunai but to his surprise The kunai just passed through his body and almost killed another Anbu behind him.

"Bunshin! But when did he…" His sentence was cut short as Gaara shot up from the ground behind the three Anbu. Their eyes widened in horror and Naruto swiftly moved between the three of them his spear swinging. He cut their throats and major arteries killing them all within a few seconds spraying blood everywhere.

The remaining three Anbu waited patiently. Gaara could tell that these Anbu unlike the others had battle experience so they knew that if they just charged in like the others they would be cut down quickly.

Gaara scanned his mind for all the information he had read about mist ninjas in his time.

The ninjas from sand specialized in fighting against many since they had a decent number of shinobi. The mist specialized in stealth and reconnaissance missions. The lightning country specialized in speed and kenjutsu while stone nins specialized in physical strength, endurance and their tactics usually involved large numbers of stone nins sending attacks in waves since their fighting stiles could be counter productive if too many fought against one ninja. And Konoha possessed a good balance of everything since in its founding missing nins from every village had joined it.

Just as he finished his thoughts the four Anbu charged at him. Each coming in one behind the other.

The first Anbu was coming in from the left. He tried to swing at Gaara's head. But Gaara brought up his spear and blocked the hit. He used the momentum of the attack to push it upwards over his head and then sliced the ninja's stomach, creating a deep gash.

The next ninja tried to swipe at Gaara legs. Gaara jumped right over the attack, letting the Anbu pass him by. He tried to swing his spear down on the third Anbu coming at him but the Anbu managed to bring his sword up in time and blocked it.

He took out a kunai and threw it at the fourth Anbu that was coming up behind the third nin he was currently holding down with his spear. The fourth ninja barely avoided the blade from hitting a fatal spot but it still hit his shoulder. He cried out in pain and clutched his now bleeding right arm.

The second ninja that had passed by Gaara stopped and tried to turn on his heel with his sword aiming for Gaara's mid section. Gaara's automatic defense activated it stopped his attack. A clawed hand suddenly shot out of the sand and grabbed the ninja. The wall of sand dissipated and revealed Gaara with his left hand gripping something.

Before the man had a chance to scream Gaara closed his fist and the sand crushed the Anbu.

The other remaining anbu's took fighting stances but they soon saw several of Zabuza's mist nin were already gaining an advantage outside and grew nervous. Gaara turned and saw what they were looking at and grinned. "If you drop your weapons now there's a chance you'll live.

The Anbu looked like they were torn but their indecision was soon made clear as one of the Anbu felt the cold edge of a Kunai on his throat "He's right you had better give up." Came the voice of Hatake Kakashi as he pressed the kunai a bit closer to the Anbu's neck.

The Anbu's all dropped their weapons and raised their hands in the air.

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Haku and Koroku were fighting at close range each one not wanting to back down from the other.

Koroku tried to swing at Haku's mid section but Haku crisscrossed his blades and placed them in the way. The blades hit eachother with great force making a miniature shockwave that picked up the dust around them.

Haku pushed the blade up making Koroku stumble. Haku then tried a roundhouse kick aiming to Koroku's face. But the old man didn't reach his years by luck. He swiftly grabbed Haku's leg and held him firmly. He then kicked Haku's other leg in the back of the knee making Haku stumble forward.

Koroku then moved swiftly and kicked Haku square in the face with his other leg. Haku flew back about five feet before he skidded on the ground a few more feet. Haku got back on his feet and had to immediately duck under Koroku's naginata.

Haku sweep kicked him and then tried to stab him with his daggers while he was falling. Koroku twisted his body and dodged the first blade letting it be stabbed in the concrete floor. He grabbed Haku's wrist stopping the second blade. He then put his feet on Haku's stomach and kicked him off.

Haku fell on his back. He recovered with a back flip and immediately formed some one handed seals and Koroku was suddenly surrounded by a dome of ice mirrors. Haku's images appeared in all the mirrors. "Now you will witness my true power."

Haku suddenly flickered out of existence and hundreds of needles suddenly flew towards Koroku. The old man started spinning his Naginata all around him very fast. Blocking all the needles except a few that nipped his sides. When the needles suddenly stopped flying Koroku suddenly stopped and formed a rapid series of handseals.

"**Suiton Daibaku no jutsu" **Water suddenly surrounded Koroku and compressed around him and exploded all around him. The ice mirrors held for a moment but after a few seconds they cracked and shattered. Haku was sent flying and crashed into one of the stone pillars on the tower.

Koroku leaned on his Naginata to keep himself on his feet. The jutsu had taken a lot out of him. About thirty years ago he would have been able to do that and much more but his old bones weren't as strong as they use to.

He walked over to Haku's slumped form and prepared to deliver the final blow. "It appears that Zabuza was not worthy of fulfilling his dream after all." He prepared to swing but the Haku he was staring at suddenly became water. His eyes widened and he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his midsection.

He looked down and saw Haku pull out his dagger from his stomach. He slumped a little and then sat down cross legged. "I see…" He turned and put his back to Haku. "Take my head I will tell tales of your skill in the afterlife." He closed his eyes and held his head up high.

Haku walked over so he was facing him. "No…" Koroku opened his eyes and stared at him in curiosity. Haku continued speaking. "My desire to end this senseless killing does not require more bloodshed." Haku offered his hand to the veteran "Come Koroku your indomitable spirit is needed in order to heal this land."

Koroku thought for a short moment before he smiled and accepted his hand and stood. "Very well my friend. I Hokashi Koroku swear my loyalty to you."

Haku smiled and shook his hand. "I am honored."

Meanwhile two pairs of gold eyes with green slits stared at the scene from her lair deep in the ocean. **"Interesting."**

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Naruto growled as he picked himself up from the floor. His injuries both internal and external were healing rapidly. He lifted himself on all fours and glared at the girl that stood infront of him. **_"She challenge our power we kill her"_** His inner demon spoke from his mind.

Kyuubi growled from his cage. **"Naruto calm yourself you are better than this!"** Kyuubi bellowed from his cage.

The girl meanwhile was paralyzed with fear. Naruto's normally golden eyes were now a cruel blood red. She swiftly drew another three arrows but Naruto shot forward, grabbed her by the neck and slammed her against the wall with crushing force. She gasped for air and grabbed Naruto's arm with both of hers. Her bow falling to the floor with a clatter.

She continued trying to get Naruto's clawed hand off her but to no avail his grip was to strong. At the last minute she took out a kunai and stabbed it in his fore arm. Naruto looked at the blade with animalistic rage and he once again slammed her against the wall with even more force than before.

The girls eyes grew heavy and her world went black. Naruto still didn't soften his grip.

Kyuubi had just about enough **"Enough of this foolishness!" **With the force of a typhoon Kyuubi's chakra suddenly flew through Naruto's system and Naruto felt the strange desire to kill wash away from his mind and immediately released the girl from his grip. He gently set her down on the floor and decided to get some answers.

'_Mind telling me what the hell happened?'_

"**Your demonic instincts took over I was hoping you would be able to suppress them on your own but when I saw it wasn't going to happen I decided to step in."**

'_Will this happen often? I don't want to go berserk and end up going on a killing spree'_

"**I will teach you how to control it through meditation when the battle is over but for now secure your prisoner find out who she is and then go and help Zabuza."**

Naruto nodded and walked over to the unconscious girl. He started checking her pockets until he finally found an ID that all ninjas chuunin rank or above were ordered to carry at all times unless they were Anbu.

"_Hmm say's here her name is Ina…a jounin from Kumo (Cloud). No specifics on what she could be doing here in Kiri. I suppose I'll ask her when she wakes up.'_

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Zabuza and the Mizukage's blade crashed into eachother with devastating force. Each one trading blows with the other as the roof tiles cracked beneath the pressure the two of them were causing.

Zabuza didn't let up for a second as he swung once from right to left. The Mizukage blocked it with his sword. Zabuza then did a roundhouse kick to the Mizukage's midsection. He then followed it up with a kick to his face and then a sweep kick making the Mizukage tumble to the edge of the roof.

Zabuza leaped up high and tried to bring down his sword on the Mizukage as he was getting back on the roof. Unfortunately he was able to get back up before Zabuza completed the swing and brought his sword up and blocked the attack. He roughly pushed Zabuza back and began his own flurry of swings and strikes.

He thrusted his sword forward. Zabuza jumped over the blade and tried to come with a downward swing. The Mizukage rolled to the side letting Zabuza's blade cleave the area of the roof he had been standing on.

The Mizukage wasted no time and immediately punched Zabuza square in the jaw.

Zabuza flipped and got back on his feet. The Mizukage was already on top of him. He tried a swing to Zabuza's neck but Zabuza managed to back flip and kick the Mizukage in the chin while doing it.

Zabuza then tried to swing at the Mizukage again but the man caught his arm and tried to attack him with his own sword. Zabuza caught his arm with his free arm and both of them were suddenly caught in a deadlock. Zabuza and the Mizukage struggled to gain dominance over the other. Zabuza finally had enough and headbutted the Mizukage once then twice then a third time and the man was sent tumbling back.

Zabuza saw his opening and took it…well he tried to the moment he was about to take his final strike Naruto busted through the door "HEY BOOZEHOUD YOU IN HERE?" with such force the area of the roof he was standing on suddenly collapsed.

"DAMN YOU BRAT!" Zabuza yelled as he fell in a tangled heap with debris allover him.

"Wha'd he do this time." A voice spoke from outside. Zabuza turned his head and saw Haku standing on the edge of the balcony with a small smile on his face.

"He probably did something stupid again." Gaara said as he floated outside using a platform made of sand.

"HEY!" Naruto cried out indignantly.

The Mizukage growled at the sight of the three of them _'Damn I cant beat all four of them I will have to retreat for now.' _The Mizukage made some more handseals **"Kirigakure no jutsu" **A deep mist filled the area.

Zabuza saw the mist and growled in anger. He focused on his senses but the mist soon dissipated and the Mizukage was nowhere to be seen.

Zabuza narrowed his eyes in anger. "The damn bastard got away." Naruto walked over and put a hand on his shoulder. "Aww the hell with it we won! Your dream of ending this senseless bloodshed is complete."

Zabuza smiled "Yeah it is!"

They all heard the sounds of cheering outside. Eachone walked over to the balcony and found all of Zabuza's shinobi cheering in celebration. Their cheering became even louder as they caught sight of Zabuza and the four teenagers.

Zabuza looked up to the sky with a smile on his face. He had finally done it he had fulfilled his dream. He looked to the three teenagers.

'_My dream is complete. Now it's your turn to complete yours.'_

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Well here's the new chap don't worry Ina will be showing up more in the story after this and so will Haku and Gaara and more Gaara/Tenten and Haku/Saku is on the way.


	28. Getting back at Naruto

Well here's another chapter hope you all enjoy it.

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Naruto's team from Konoha, Gaara's team from Suna and Zabuza, Haku and Koroku with the highest ranking Kiri ninja were all gathered in the Kage tower in one of the smaller offices since the Mizukage's office was currently under repairs. They were each discussing what should be their next move. Despite their victory Kiri now had a little more than half the man power they use to have so the village was fairly weak compared to the other greater hidden villages.

"Well…" Kakashi began looking at his perverted book. "If you want to secure your alliance with the other villages such as Suna and Konoha then you have to send representatives. You would send one or two people to Konoha for six months or so and then you would return with one or two of our ninja to Kiri. I believe Suna uses the same system." He said the last part as his eyes turned back to Gaara.

Gaara absently nodded. "Yes we do. Soon it will be our turn to send ninja's to Konoha if I'm not mistaken."

Zabuza nodded. "Yes I understand that we need allies but we still have another problem. Kiri need's a new Kage but before we can choose one we need a new council since they are the one's that choose who becomes a Kage. But since I don't want a repeat of the past we have to start off from scratch and that…takes time."

Koroku stepped up next. "Well I have an idea. Why don't you and Haku head to Konoha and then we send the demon brother's to Suna. I can remain here and manage the selection of the new council and the recruitment along with the missions."

Zabuza raised an eyebrow at him. "You sure you can handle that old man?"

Koroku chuckled a little. "Don't worry about me. These bones may be old but my mind hasn't lost it's abilities."

Zabuza nodded. "Fine I suppose we'll go to Konoha. We need the allies anyway." Zabuza and the rest of the group stood and started walking out the door.

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When they reached outside of the building they saw a group of ninja with their hands tied behind their backs on their knees with another ninja holding a sword. It looked like he was getting ready to…

The sickening sound of metal cutting flesh with the sound of a head rolling on the ground suddenly filled the air. Naruto turned back to Zabuza. "What's going on here"

Koroku was the one who answered. "These are the people who refused to swear loyalty to Zabuza and so they must be executed." Naruto nodded as his eyes traced over the line of people. His eyes widened as they fell on the girl that he had fought. He then noticed that she was going to be the next one to be executed.

As he saw the executioner raise his arms in preparation to swing Naruto shot forward at blinding speed and as the executioner brought his blade down Naruto tok out his own sword and in a flash of silver the executioners sword was cut in half and the point stabbed itself in the ground a few feet away.

Ina who had her eyes closed waiting for the pain to come slowly opened one eye as she heard he sound of metal clashing against metal. When she saw a broken sword stabbed into the ground infront of him she slowly turned her head to see the executioner glaring at someone. She turned her head a little more and found the blond guy she had fought against. "YOU!" She screamed angrily.

Zabuza and the rest of the group immediately ran over to him. "Allright brat what the hell is going on?"

Naruto turned back to Zabuza with a blank/bored look on his face. Even though on the inside he was actually asking himself why he had done that without thinking. But then the explanation just popped in his head. "It looks like your ninja haven't been doing their jobs. She's not a Kiri ninja. Killing her could cause another war between you guys and Kumo."

Zabuza turned his eyes on the girl. "I don't see a forehead protector on her."

Naruto opened his mouth to answer when the girl started talking. "I've been trying to tell you bastards that my forehead protector was lost during the battle after I was knocked unconscious."

Zabuza turned back to Naruto. "I assume you are the one who knocked her unconscious."

Naruto nodded. Zabuza turned back to the girl. "What's your name?"

"Ina" She replied looking right at him.

Zabuza turned back to Naruto. "Release her." In the blink of an eye Naruto slashed the ropes that bound her wrists. Ina stood and rubbed her wrists absently.

Zabuza sighed and rubbed his temples "This is getting ridiculous now I gotta provide this girl an escort back to Kumo."

Ina looked at him "No thanks I think I've had enough of you and your ninja's for one lifetime."

Naruto snorted "Fine by us lady. It's your funeral."

Ina turned back at him with angry eyes "No one's talking to you so why don't you but out."

"**Feisty one isn't she?" **Kyuubi muttered to himself.

Naruto didn't hear his grandfather. "Maybe I should knock you out again. You're certainly more likeable that way."

Ina walked right up to Naruto and glared at him even though she was almost five inches shorter than him. "How about I break your teeth? Would I be more likeable then?"

"_**Even though she knows that Naruto's the one who knocked her out she still shows no fear. Either she's incredibly brave or she's incredibly stupid"**_

Zabuza saw the exchange between the two and a large smirk started growing on his face. A similar smirk started forming on the cycloptic Konoha jounin known as Kakashi as well.

"Allright I've decided Naruto you're going to be her escort back to Kumo."

"Listen wo—WHAT?" Naruto yelled as he focused his eyes back on his old sensei who was now grinning like a madman.

"Why yes Zabuza-sama that is a great idea." Kakashi said as he tore his eye away from his book and nodded smiling just like Zabuza.

Naruto and Ina stood frozen for several moments before what they had said finally sunk in. "WHAT!"

"YOU'R PUTTING THIS IDIOT INCHARGE OF TAKING ME BACK TO KUMO/ YOUR MAKING ME TAKE HER TO KUMO! WHY?"

Gaara was getting a very evil smirk on his face as he saw Naruto's predicament. Now what did it remind him of?

"Well Naruto quite frankly your one of the strongest ninja I know and you are also the most trust worthy and torturing you has become one of my most favorite pastimes over the years." Zabuza said the last part in a very sickeningly sweet voice. "Gaara, Haku don't you agree with me?"

Gaara and Haku wore grins that could have put Orochimaru to shame as they nodded. And they even sent a slight chill up Kyuubi's spine.

Naruto looked horrified. "WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS WHAT HAVE I DONE?"

Zabuza looked thoughtful for a moment. "Well their was that one time back in the forest that involved a cactus as I'm sure you remember."

Haku spoke up next. "Then their was that time you put mud in a cake and said it was chocolate."

Gaara was the one who spoke up next. "I told you I'd make you pay for putting Tenten on my team."

Kakashi spoke up next. "This is for that prank you pulled on me when you switched my prized Icha Icha books with the yaoi editions. I was hospitalized for a week after that incident."

Naruto just stared at them. He tried to form a coherent sentence but the words evaded him. Ina was fairing much better. "Forget it. I'll take my chances out their on my own."

Zabuza slowly shook his head. "Sorry girl cant let you do that. If you were to get in trouble or killed then we would be blamed and that could cause another war between us and Kumo as Naruto has already pointed out. So were sending him with you."

'I OBJECT!" She yelled. Zabuza lazily waved her off. "Yeah yeah whatever. I sugest you two leave while the sun is still out."

With that everyone of the group started walking away. Leaving Naruto and Ina standing their with dumb struck looks on their faces.

Slowly Naruto and Ina turned to eachother. Naruto's look turned into a scowl and Ina's did as well. "I'll meet you at the north gate I'll let you decide when." Naruto spoke.

"Just give me thirty minutes to get my weapon and I'm there."

Naruto nodded and started walking to the north gate. The quicker he got this dumb mission over with the better.

He was only doing this to help Zabuza nothing else. It had nothing to do with how her eyes seemed to sparkle in the sun light. It had nothing to do with how beautiful she looked with every movement she made, even the deadly ones. It had nothing to do with how her black hair seemed to shine.

Nope it had nothing to do with any of that.

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Well here's the new chapter hope you like it.


	29. We've got problems!

Well here's another chap I hope you all like it.

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Naruto and Ina slowly moved through the high mountain pass that would lead them out of Kiri and toward Kumo. They had been walking for about six hours in almost complete silence. Naruto decided to break the silence. "So…do you mind telling me why a kumo nin was in Kiri?"

Ina jumped a little at the sound of his voice. But she quickly composed herself and spoke evenly. "Not that it's any of your buisness but we were trying to secure an alliance with Kiri I was there two day's before that Zabuza guy attacked the city and was trapped inside."

Naruto nodded at her. It was a logical reason for her to be in a foreign country.

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Naruto had been walking with Ina for a hour now. They had started running to cover more distance but the mountain terrain was much to difficult. So the two had begun to walk. Ina walked next to Naruto, but a little behind, her head bowed deep in thought and from time to time Naruto could hear her sighing.

The young girl hadn't bothered to start a conversation, which was no bother to him. He was still wondering what would be the best way to help Kiri regain it's former strength. Konoha and Suna weren't a garanteed protection with the ongoing war with sound.

"So..." Ina's voice ripped Naruto away from his thoughts. "Why were you even at the battle?" She asked him.

He didn't answer, just kept walking. She didn't need to know why he was there. It didn't really matter now, as far as he was concerned.

"I bet you're thinking... 'That wench isn't worthy of an explanation.' But I'll warn you, I won't shut up. No... In fact I'll keep talking until you answer me. I'll ask you the same question over and over again until the words ring in your sensitive little ears and soon you will get a headache from my senseless-"

"I was there to help Zabuza." Naruto said emotionlessly.

"Oh..." She said, as if it were obvious.

The two fell into a deep silence. Naruto kept his gaze ahead, but from the corner of his eye, he saw Ina drop her head and fall deep into thought again, continuing to sigh once more.

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Ina bit her lip and stared at the ground. They had been walking for quite some time and neither had spoken a word. Misery consumed Ina at the thought of this silence forever being with her for the rest of her trip. The sun was already beginning to set.

Soon the trees began to thin, and the sound of water filled air. A few minutes later the treeline cleared and revealed a steaming hotspring smack dab in the middle of nowhere

Naruto was about to keep moving but Ina had other things in mind. She sighed conently and flopped down squarely infront of the spring where she started to unhook her weapons.

Naruto raised a curious eyebrow at her. "What are you doing? We should keep moving."

Ina turned to him with a glare that could have sent Itachi running like a little girl. "We have been traveling all day and I'm tired so I'm going to relax in the spring."

Naruto frowned "Listen woman we shouldn't waste time like this. We should keep moving while the sun is still out."

Ina once again glared at him. "Listen to me blondie! I don't know about you but I like to be clean so I'm getting in the spring. So how about you start making camp while I change. And my name isn't woman it's Ina."

Naruto sighed in exasperation. _'What the hell did I do to deserve this?'_

"**You switched Kakashi's books."**

'_Shut up! No one's talking to you.'_

Naruto walked away from the hot springs to gather firewood and food to eat. For a fleeting moment he convinced himself that he could hide in the shadow's near the hot springs without being detected but he caught himself and furiously beat that thought down with his mental sword.

Kyuubi however was not having any of it. This was an opportunity far too good to pass up.

"**Ohh, come on brat you know it would be very easy."**

'_What? What do you mean?'_

"**Ohh come on you know you want to get a quick peek at her."**

'_WHAT? NO I DON'T! ARE YOU CRAZY?'_

"**Admit it boy…you know you want to." **

At that point Kyuubi flooded Naruto's mind with images thatv would have killed Jiraiya through blood loss.

To his credit Naruto blushed a very deep shade of crimson and stood stock still a whole five minutes before he was able to get himself and his hormones under control.

'_Your evil you know that.'_

"**Yes"**

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Ina meanwhile sat in the Hot spring with a content sigh and sank into it so only her head and nose were above the surface.

She reviewed over the last few day's of her life. First she had been sent by her grandfather to Kiri to secure an alliance. Then a rebellion occurs and she's trapped in the city. After that she's captured and now she has to head to Kumo with a blond haired ninja ho annoyed the hell out of her.

Yup her life was going perfectly.

She gave a mental sigh and leaned against the rocks deciding to rest her eyes."

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Naruto gathered the firewood and had hunted down a deer. He finished chopping up the meat and started cooking it. His thoughts drifted to Ina. The girl was taking far longer than what anyone should take.

He slowly stood and started walking towards the hotsprings. Just before he broke through the tree line he yelled out. "INA!" He got no answer. He sniffed the air but he didn't catch the girls scent. He narrowed his eyes and rushed out of the trees.

He got to the edge of the hotsprings and found Ina's black hair right along the edge. His sensitive hearing caught her soft breath and steady heartbeat. She had fallen asleep. Naruto raised an eyebrow. It wasn't normal for a jounin to fall asleep. Infact it was downright careless.

Still even he had to admit that these last few day's had been exhausting.

He slowly walked over to the edge of the water and gently shook her. "Hey wake up!"

"**You might want to be a safe distance away when she wakes up."**

Naruto ignored the fox and continued to gently shake her. "Will you wake up already!"

Ina slowly opened her eyes. She felt warm touch and turned her gaze to find a clawed hand gripping her gently. She followed the hand to it's owner and found Naruto's gold slits staring back at her.

She blinked once

Then twice

And then a third time.

"HENTAI!" She screeched at the top of her lungs and hit Naruto with strength that could compete with Tsunade punched him so hard Naruto went flying through several tree's.

"**Told you so"**

Naruto hit the last tree and fell flat on his face. "I should have let the executioner handle this bullshit."

Naruto moved to stand up but Ina was dressed in a flash and jumped on his back while pinning him to the ground. "Just what the hell were you trying to do? Get a peek at me pervert!"

Naruto turned his head as best he could. "Look woman the food was ready and I went to call you. You were asleep and I decided to wake you up. I didn't sneak a peek at you." Naruto smirked toothily. "Beside's there's not much to look at."

Ina looked rather livid at the comment. She tightened her grip on Naruto's wrist causing the young blond to wince in pain. "Not much to look at huh?"

Naruto eyed her. "Will you hurry up and get off me. The food is getting cold."

Ina smirked toothily. "Why should I."

Naruto said nothing but after a second or so he mustered up all of his strength and rolled over making Ina fall to the side. Naruto quickly pounced on her and held her arms firmly in place above her head. This time he had her pinned to the ground.

Naruto smirked widely, showing off his sharp fangs. "Now then…will you behave?" He asked mischievously while trying to fight down a blush at the position they were in.

Ina squirmed a little under him. She scoffed at him while trying to ignore her heart thundering within her chest. What the hell was causing her to react like this. "Fine whatever."

Naruto smirked in a way that would have made Zabuza proud and stood up. He offered his hand and helped her stand. She dusted off her clothes and Naruto motioned to the flicker of firelight in the distance.

"That's the camp it's my turn to use the hot springs." Ina wordlessly nodded and walked off.

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Naruto and Ina wordlessly awoke the next morning and began packing all their things and donning their equipment.

When they were done Naruto turned back to her. "You ready?"

She nodded and they were about to move out when…

"Hello Uzumaki."

Naruto turned on his heel and was greeted by the familiar forms of Hoshikage Kisame and Uchiha Itachi.

Only one thought ran through his mind. _' We've got problems'_

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Well this chapter is done hope you all enjoyed it.

Read and review I like getting some feed back.


	30. Dont call me fluffy

Here's another chapter for all of you to enjoy.

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Naruto gritted his teeth at the sight of the two Akatsuki members. He turned on his heel and spoke. "Ina run get as far away from here as possible now!"

Ina looked at him with curiosity. "What do you mean Naruto? Who are these guy's?"

Naruto gritted his teeth in anger. **"DON'T ARGUE WITH ME JUST GO!" **He yelled, letting some of his demon seep into his voice. Ina jumped at his voice but before she could move she felt the cold edge of a kunai on her neck.

Kisame stood behind her with a shark like grin on his face. "Hehehe, Itachi what do you think? Is this his girlfriend or something?"

Itachi said nothing he merely stared at Naruto expressionlessly.

Naruto narrowed his eyes in anger while thinking a way to get her out of the situation. Not only that he had to get her out of here. She was no match for an Akatsuki member and keeping her here would only cause problems. They couldn't run since Itachi was probably faster than him if he wasn't using one of his two forms and even then he might still be faster.

So that only left the options of surrendering or fighting. Surrendering was out so that just left fighting but the only people he knew that might have a chance of fighting one while he took on the other one would be Jiraiya, Tsunade or even Kakashi or Gai with a little luck.

But Ina wasn't as strong as any of those people she was probably a little above mid jounin level but that was it.

Ina on the other hand was mentally kicking her own ass for letting Kisame get so close to her. But at the same time she was trying to remember a rumor that had been going around about guy's that had red clouds on their clothes. But the only thing she could remember was that it was a group of kage level missing nins.

Suddenly she felt herself being pulled. She remembered it as the same sensation she felt as she used Kawarimi. Immediately her eyes went wide as she saw Naruto reappear where she was standing only a minute ago.

Due to the change in height from Ina to Naruto. Kisame's grip was way off when Naruto appeared and so the blond demon container turned around, grabbed Kisame's wrist and then grabbed him by the collar of his cloak. Naruto mustered all his strength and threw Kisame clear across the field and landed head first right in a tree.

Naruto turned to Ina. **"GO!" **Naruto's eyes were once again blood red and Ina suddenly remembered what had happened the last time she had seen those eyes. She nodded and ran off.

Naruto turned back to the other two and unsheathed his sword. _'I cant hold back anything. My only chance is for them to underestimate me so I can land a few good hits. But with the way Itachi is staring at me I don't think that's gonna happen._

Naruto didn't waste any time and soon turned to his darkness form. His fox tail removed itself from his waist and turned to a scaly one. Black leathery wings ripped from his back and his eyes glowed a menacing red.

Itachi narrowed his eyes at the transformation. _'This is just like last time. Hmm, a tail and wings. I wonder where this came from. We must not take this lightly he is dangerous.' _

"Kisame do not let your guard down."

Kisame grunted as he stood. Picking himself from the splinters he turned and took out Samaheda. Itachi soon landed next to him and took out his short wakizashi.

Naruto didn't waste time and shot forward like a rocket. He lunged at Kisame. The shark man brought up his sword ready to cleave the blond in two. As he brought his sword down Naruto suddenly flickered out of existence. Kisame's eyes widened in surprise but Naruto sent a sharp kick to his face from Kisame's right.

Kisame staggered back and Naruto sweep kicked his legs right out from under him. Kisame fell down on his back. Naruto moved and tried to stab the Akatsuki member while he was down but with a loud clang Itachi's wakisashi intercepted his blade.

Itachi used his free hand and punched Naruto in the face, hard. Naruto however rolled with the punch and did a 360. He used the momentum of his spin and elbowed Itachi in the side of the head.

Itachi was in a daze after the hit and Naruto was going to take the opportunity to end the murdering Uchiha's life but Kisame chose that opportunity to regain his senses and kicked Naruto hard in the stomach and Naruto felt the air forcefully leave his lungs.

Kisame then put his hands on the ground over his head and did a back flip. He brought his legs straight up and kicked Naruto right in the chin. Itachi regained his senses at that point and stabbed Naruto through the chest with his sword.

Naruto gritted his teeth in pain and flew into the air with his wings, Itachi's sword still in his chest.

Naruto pulled out the sword while he was in mid air. He then worked his demonic chakra and felt the stinging sensation which indicated his wound was healing. He snapped Itachi's sword like a twig and threw it to the side.

Kisame and Itachi watched the boy work while still on the ground. They were both pretty sure they could keep up with the brat if he tried to run so they weren't worried about the boy escaping. No their minds were wondering where the hell this transformation came from.

Naruto tensed and then with a mighty flap of his wings he was rocketing back to earths surface toward the two Akatsuki members.

Naruto immediately started making handseals. **"Katon Karyuu Endan!" **As usual a large dragon made of fire blasted toward the two Akatsuki members. However this dragon was made out of black flames instead of the normal ones.

Naruto's as well as the Akatsuki member's eyes widened in surprise.

'_What the hell?'_

"**I suppose this is another side effect. Be happy brat you might just get lucky and win this."**

Itachi narrowed his eyes in anger. His eyes flashed and formed the mangekyo **"Amateratsu"** Black flames blasted from Itachi's eyes and hit the dragon head on. Both attack's exploded and the two Akatsuki members had to shield themselves from the intense heat.

Naruto didn't lose momentum. He flew around the flames and landed a solid punch to Kisame's jaw, sending the shark man flying.

At the sound of Kisame getting hit Itachi turned on his heel and narrowly avoided Naruto's sword from piercing his skull. He took out a kunai and began blocking Naruto's sword with it.

After several blows were traded between the two Kisame flickered into existence behind Naruto and swung Samaheda. Naruto took the blow full force. The sword ripped and tore through his clothing and flesh. Naruto hissed in pain as he picked himself off the ground and the hissing sound of his demonic healing abilities taking effect. He could not ignore the huge chunk of chakra that Samaheda had taken from him though.

Kisame once again appeared behind Naruto and was getting ready to deliver the final blow that would take Naruto out.

Naruto saw the blow coming at the last minute and narrowed his red eyes in anger.

Itachi saw with his sharingan the barest flicker of chakra at the last minute. "KISAME STOP!"

At Itachi's warning Kisame stopped mid swing and the Naruto he was staring at suddenly exploded. Kisame went flying. He immediately felt someone grabbing him and turned to find Naruto holding him in a masterlock.

Before he could register what was going on Naruto suddenly shot straight into the air. He went about 50 feet when Kisame started struggling. Naruto held on as hard as he could. Naruto reached about 200 feet before he turned in mid air and started flying straight back down at speeds that could rival Gai using the second gate.

Kisame saw the approaching earth and struggled even more but it proved fruitless as Naruto continued his decent.

At the last minute Naruto released Kisame and stopped himself. But the damage was done to the mist nin as he crashed into the earth. He made a large dust cloud appear. When the dust cleared Kisame was seen in the middle of a crater. Naruto walked to the edge of the crater but as he did he saw Kisame suddenly become a puddle of water.

Naruto's eyes widened in alarm. _'What? Kawarimi!'_

Just then Naruto was slashed across his back with Samaheda Naruto hissed in pain and leaped away. He was breathing hard now since Samaheda had eaten much of his chakra. He looked and found Kisame standing where he was standing just a few moments ago with a triumphant smirk on his face.

'_Wait a minute where's…'_

His thoughts were interupted as Itachi suddenly appeared infront of him. Naruto instinctively closed his eyes since he didn't want to get caught in the world of Tsukiomi.

He suddenly felt a tap on his chest the next thing he knew all his strength left him in a flash. He collapsed on his knees breathing extremely hard. He looked down at his chest and saw a strange piece of paper stuck to his chest. He moved to take it out but a searing pain suddenly shot through his arm and chest. It felt as if he was getting hit by a Gokayuu

'_What is this.'_

Itachi answered his unasked question. "It's a special seal that our leader made specifically for you. It drains any demonic chakra in the system."

Naruto felt his consciousness slipping but he fought to remain awake. Right now he was only surviving because of the last remains of human chakra in his system. Any less and he was sure he would be dead.

Never the less Naruto tried to struggle to his feet. But as he did Kisame flickered into existence next to him and delivered a hard kick to his ribs. Naruto was sent flying across the field and hit a tree with sickening snap indicating a few of his ribs were broken.

Naruto tried to stand but he just didn't have the strength anymore._ 'Damn it all…is…this…where it all ends.'_ He couldn't even hear Kyuubi's voice anymore. The seal was blocking him out as well.

Itachi and Kisame started walking forward but as they did three Arrows wizzed by right infront of them and stabbed themselves into a nearby tree. Itachi moved to see who had shot but a sudden cry of **"Raigeki" **A wall of lightning erupted from the ground blinding him.

After several seconds the wall dissipated and Naruto was nowhere to be found. Itachi narrowed his eyes in anger. He tried to search for any chakra in the area but he couldn't find anything. He turned back to Kisame. "It appears our target has escaped. We cannot stay here or we will draw attention we leave now."

Kisame looked pissed but he nodded and they both vanished in a swirl of leaves.

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Ina breathed a sigh of relief as she saw the two of them vanish. She hadn't gone far she was only about thirty or forty yards away while masking her chakra.

"I..na" Naruto struggled to breath out as the pain of his broken ribs registered in his mind.

Ina looked at the beaten blond and couldn't help but feel a little guilty for abandoning him. "Come on we have to find shelter so I can bandage your injuries."

Naruto nodded weakly and they both started walking through the forest.

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About an hour later they arrived at a cave. They started walking inside until Naruto's leg's gave out and nearly made Ina fall due to the unexpected weight. But she soon caught herself (and him) and dragged Naruto inside.

When they made it in Ina tried to settle Naruto down gently but her arms were tired from hauling him through the forest and only succeeded in practically dropping him. And with Naruto's ribs already broken the result was not painless.

Naruto winced as he hit the ground but gave no other outward expressions of his discomfort.

Ina kneeled next to him and moved to take off his coat but with what little strength he still had he caught her wrist and stopped her. Ina looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "If you don't let me do anything I cant help you."

Naruto took a deep breath and coughed a few times before he was able to rasp out. "The seal…take it off."

Ina looked to the strange piece of paper stuck to his chest and immediately took off the paper. After a few seconds it burnt to ash in her hand and Naruto felt his demon chakra already replenishing. _'Kyuubi'_

"**Yeah brat I'm here…try not to get in this kind of situation again."**

_'You don't have to tell me twice. Still how about you give me some of your chakra.'_

"**Sorry brat I'm not going to risk it. Forcibly taking out all your chakra and forcibly putting it back in without giving your body time to adjust can do some serious harm to your chakra coils."**

'_So you mean I'm stuck like this?'_

"**Yup"**

'_Aww, hell'_

"**It's not my fault you got your ass kicked."**

Naruto grumbled profanities in his mind until he realized Ina was talking to him.

"What was that?" He tried to speak normally but the pain of his broken ribs was still hindering him a little.

Ina's eyebrow twitched a little in annoyance. "I asked if it was okay for me to patch up your injuries now?"

Naruto shifted his position so he would be sitting up instead of lying down and winced again due to the pain. "I think that would be for the best. I'm not sure how long it will take my body to get back to normal."

Ina nodded and helped Naruto take off his black coat. But then she saw something that made her eye's go as wide as saucers "IS THAT A TAIL?" Naruto winced at the volume of her voice. "Yes it is."

He slowly allowed his tail to unwrap itself from his waist then proceeded to take off his jacket. Ina who was still grasping the fact that this guy had a tail could only stare at the appendage in shock.

Naruto finished taking off his vest and shirt and then leaned back against the rocks with a slight wince. "Go ahead."

Ina blinked a couple of times when she realized he was talking to her. She then noticed that he was topless and she could see all of the muscles along his upper body and blushed several shades of crimson.

She mentally shook her head at her own stupidity. _'Get it out of your head girl.' _She then took out some bandages and started wrapping Naruto's mid section. "So do you mind telling me why you have a tail?"

Naruto spoke without even turning to her. "Bloodline limit"

Ina raised a curious eyebrow at him. "No offense but what kind of advantage could a tail provide"

Naruto raised an eyebrow at her. "The tail does nothing. I have increased senses and strength the tail is a side effect."_ 'It's not all a lie anyway.'_

Ina shrugged and continued working. After several seconds of silence Naruto spoke again. "Why did you come back?"

Ina turned to him with a curious expression. "What? You would have perfered if I left you there?"

"Don't get me wrong I appreciate what you did but I would just like to know why."

Ina shrugged with her shoulders. "You did a Kawarimi and saved my life so I saved yours." In her head a little voice said that she was lying through her teeth but she ignored the voice and kept working.

'_So she only saved me because she wanted to repay a debt.' _A part of him felt a little hurt by that statement but he paid it no mind and continued to sit in silence.

"There we're done" Ina said looking a little pleased with herself. Naruto nodded and leaned back against the rocks. "Thank's for your help."

"No problem." Ina narrowed her eyes and bit her lower lip. _'Oh to hell with it.' _

Naruto suddenly felt a strange sensation coming from his tail. He looked and found Ina holding the appendage with wonder all over her face.

'_Wow it is real.' _Naruto growled in annoyance and swiftly withdrew his tail from her grasp.

"Hey!" She glared at him. Naruto glared right back. "Hands off."

Ina humped and sat against the rocks. "Whatever _fluffy_." She added enphasis to the last word making Naruto's eyes shoot open and stare at her with a glare that could have made Shukaku wet himself. "If you ever call me fluffy again the seventh level of hell will seem like paradise compared to what I'll do to you."

Ina waved her had dissmisively. "Whatever…fluffy" She muttered the last part so no one could hear and then shifted her position so she could fall asleep."

Naruto glared at her back before he to settled himself to get some sleep.

Well it would be a lot easier if a certain fox wasn't laughing his ass off in his mind.

"**AAAAAAAAAAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! OH MAN SHE CALLED HIM _FLUFFY_! GOOD GOD THIS IS SOMETHING I'M NEVER GONNA LET HIM LIVE DOWN!"**

Naruto growled dangerously while thinking of all forms of torture he could do to his grandfather since he was trapped in his mind.

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Well this chap is done I hope it wasn't bad.


	31. WHAT!

Well here's another chap I hope you all enjoy it.

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"YOU DID **WHAT**?" The Hokage tower shook from the ferocity of Tsunade's voice. Kakashi, Sakura, Sasuke, Lee, Tenten, Kin, Haku and Zabuza all winced at the volume of the woman's voice. Tsunade was standing over the demolished remains of her desk.

Kakashi laughed nervously and scratched the back of his head rather sheepishly. "We umm…sent Naruto to escort a Kumo nin back to her village."

Tsunade's eyebrow twitched rapidly: a clear indication that she was not in the happiest mood. "Who suggested this idea?"

Immediately all fingers pointed at Zabuza. Even Haku threw him into the lions den.

Tsunade turned her angry glare on him and Zabuza could suppress the chill that ran up and down his spine. He mentally started searching for all possible escape routes but the only two he could find were the door and the balcony.

The door was locked and Tsunade was standing between him and the balcony.

Well crap.

Tsunade was upon Zabuza in an instant and grabbed him by the collar of his jacket. She lifted him up with one arm using that freakish strength of hers and proceeded to shake the hell out of him much like he use to do to Naruto when he was still small. "WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING YOU DAMN LUNATIC. IF THEIR ATTACKED NARUTO MIGHT BE HURT OR WORSE KILLED. SO HELP ME GOD IF ANYTHING…"

The others all watched the exchange with blank faces on. Sakura slowly got next to Haku and leaned in to whisper in his ear. "Aren't you gonna help him?"

Haku turned back at her with an 'Are you crazy?' look on his face. He turned back to the sight of Zabuza and Tsunade, then to the broken desk and finally back at Sakura. He pointed at the desk. "You expect me to go against that?"

Sakura winced slightly as she saw the damage Tsunade had done to her desk with just a light tap (so to speak). She nodded solemnly. "I see your point."

The ninja's continued to look on each making a silent prayer for the demon of the hidden mist known as Momochi Zabuza.

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Naruto and Ina were standing before the large wooden gates of Kumo. Where Konoha's gates were made of stone and had the symbol of the leaf on it with the Kanji for 'fire' This gate was made of extremely fine yet hard white wood that had a phoenix carved into it.

The village was at the summit of a very high mountain. The mountain was covered in what one could consider a small forest only giving in to hard stone at the very peak where the Kage tower was. The buildings were mainly made out of very white wood

An Anbu suddenly leaped down infront of them. "Ina-hime. Raikage-sama has been worried about you since we have not received any word from Kiri for the past few weeks."

Ina nodded. "Kiri fell into a state of civil turmoil shortly after I arrived. The former Mizukage's forces were defeated and Kiri is now working on naming a new Mizukage in his place."

The Anbu nodded. "I see you should report this to Raikage-sama but I must ask who is this leaf shinobi."

Ina spoke again. "This is Uzumaki Naruto. He helped the allied forces of Suna Konoha and the rebel mist nins in their attack on the city. He was then sent as my escort to bring me back to Kiri safely."

The Anbu once again nodded. "I see. I would gladly allow you entrance to the city but the leaf nin will have to wait until an escort of two Anbu arrive to take him to see the Raikage. I trust there is no problem in this arrangement."

Naruto shook his head and the Anbu bowed before leaving in a puff of smoke. A few minutes later two more Anbu showed up and stood behind Naruto. The gates creaked open and they entered Kumogakure.

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As they passed by the people stared at the leaf nin being escorted by the Anbu towards the Kage tower.

Naruto looked at the direction of the Kage monument but to his utter amazement he only saw three faces on the monument instead of the four that should be on it. _'Either this village is one generation younger than the rest of the villages or it has only had three Kages. But then that means the Raikage is as old as Sarutobi. What the hell is going on?'_

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Naruto and Ina stood infront of the door which Naruto assumed was the entrance to the Raikage's office.

Ina knocked once and an elderly voice answered from the other side. "Come in."

Ina opened the door and walked in. Naruto followed her. He saw a single old man probably a little younger than Sarutobi sitting at the desk.

'_This confirms it. But still why would Kumo only have three Kage's the only reason it could be was because the person they were going to choose to be the fourth died before he could get the title or no one was ever nominated.'_

His train of thought was interupted by a loud high pitched squeal of "GRANDPA!" Ina ran and hugged the old man sitting at the desk with speed that surprised everyone.

The old man smilled and gladly hugged her back. "Ina my child I was beginning to worry. Where have you been?"

Naruto then saw a shadow blur past him from the corner of his eye. It was moving towards the Raikage and Ina. He tensed and gripped the sword preparing to move in even though he knew he wouldn't make it there in time to stop him.

The shadowy figure suddenly stopped behind Ina. The figure moved and suddenly…began tickling her.

Naruto stopped his movement and stared at the odd scene infront of him. He couldn't help but feel a strange emotion well up in his gut. What were they? Anger? Jealousy? Nah

The Raikage stopped and noticed Naruto's attempt to intervene and he then noticed the small flickers of emotion cross his eyes. _'Hmm interesting.'_

Ina stopped laughing as the figure stopped tickling her she turned and smiled at him. "You really need to stop that."

The boy who was about twenty two years old with long dark brown hair with a beard and mustache spoke to her. "What? I'm no longer allowed to tickle my baby sister?"

'_Ahh so she's his sister.' _For some reason Naruto felt relief wash over him at that discovery.

The old Raigake saw this and felt the ghost of a smile grace his features. _'Hmmm, this could prove interesting.'_ Thoughts and schemes were running through the old man's head a mile a minute as he thought of all the possibilities. _'That boy that Ina is dating now is a fool but this one is intriguing .'_

Naruto cleared his throat, successfully catching the attention of the other two occupants in the room.

Ina blushed a little in embarrassment. "Oh Naruto I'm sorry. This is my grandfather Mori and my brother Katsu" Naruto nodded and bowed slightly. "It's nice to meet you."

Naruto hated formalities but he figured that since he was the 'representative' of Konoha he might as well make a good impression.

Mori noticed his discomfort and waved his hand dismissively. "Boy I can tell just by the way you stand that this isn't your true personality. Skip the formalities and let's get down to business. Now first thing. What has happened in Kiri? And why are you here?"

Naruto sat down and began explaining. "Kiri has recently had a civil war between the Mizukage and one Momochi Zabuza. The situation began shortly after your daughter arrived in Kiri to secure an alliance with them. In the ensuing chaos she was trapped within the city walls. Momochi Zabuza asked for assistance from both Konoha and Suna. I was part of a team that was sent to assist. To make a long story short Zabuza won and now Kiri is rebuilding."

Naruto paused for a moment before continuing. "Now after the battle I found Ina and she told us that she was from Kumo so I brought her here. My second purpose for being here is to work as a representative for both Kiri and Konoha. Both countries wish to extend an alliance towards Kumo."

Mori leaned back in his chair. The resemblance to Sarutobi was quite scary really. "I see. But I have to ask, are Konoha and Kiri only proposing this because they wish to enforce our alliance so Kiri can use our raw materials and resources to rebuild and so that Konoha can use our soldiers to fight the ongoing war with Oto?" His face was hard and cold. His voice was as flat as a sheet of metal.

Naruto realized he was walking on eggshells here. He thought of all the possibilities this encounter could create.

"No Raikage-sama we…"

"Call me Mori, boy. I told you to skip the formalities."

"Mori…Konoha will not ask you to aid us in our fight against Oto. We will ask you however to assure us that all dealings with Oto or all dealings that are not absolutely necessary to maintain your nations economic or military stability are cancelled. And Konoha will not ask you to provide ninja's unless another nation such as Grass or Iwa attack us by surprise. In return if Konoha is able we will provide either economic or military assistance to Kumo in it's time of need."

Mori seemed to contemplate this for a moment. "I find that satisfactory. I will speak to your Hokage and make sure that she accepts the conditions you have placed. Kiri however will have to send their own representative to discuss an alliance with us."

Naruto nodded and stood up. Mori shuffled through some papers "Where will you be staying during your stay here Naruto-san"

That stopped Naruto in his tracks. _'Wait,wait,wait! STAYING? What does he mean by staying.'_

Katsu was having similar thoughts _'Staying? Why would he have to stay?'_

Naruto cleared his throat. "Excuse me Mori but what exactly do you mean by 'where will I be staying?'"

Mori looked up at him in surprise. "Don't you know? As a representative of your country you must stay until all matters involving the interaction between our countries is settled."

Naruto stared at him in shock with his mouth hanging open slightly.

Katsu however was deep in thought. _'That's not true. Sure it's been done but it's not exactly necessary.'_ He turned his eyes back on his grandfather. _'What are you planning old man?' _

Mori fixed him with a pointed glare that clearly said 'not a word'.

In his shocked state Naruto missed the movement but it certainly wasn't lost to Kyuubi. **_'Hehehe, I can already guess what the geezer has in mind'_**

After a few seconds of silence Naruto spoke again. "Umm I'm not sure…I wasn't planning on staying here so I didn't bring enough money to get a hotel or anything."

Mori nodded and shuffled through some more papers. "Well we don't have any areas for you to stay in without paying so the only place you could possibly stay is in my granddaughter's apartment."

Naruto and Ina's eyes flew open at the statement.

"**WHAT!" **

A certain female sannin suddenly looked up from her paperwork as a sudden cry of 'what?' reached her ears.

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Two hours of shouting/arguing/convincing later. The only two that stood in the office were Katsu and Mori.

Katsu looked over at his grandfather. "So this was your plan. Your real evil you know that?"

Mori grinned stupidly from ear to ear making his wrinkles more pronounced. "Yes but you must agree that this Naruto character is better than that other fool she is seeing. Besides it'll be fun."

Katsu smiled and nodded.

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Tsunade once again looked up from her paperwork as she saw a messenger bird tapping at her window. She calmly walked over and took the small scroll from the birds leg.

_Hokage-dono if you are worried about the one called Uzumaki Naruto know that he is staying here in Kumo until we settle a treaty amongst our nations. I know that this isn't done normally but please hear me out…_

Tsunade continued to read the letter with a smirk growing wider and wider on her features until it threatened to split her face apart.

'_Besides you youngsters should let an old man have his fun._

_Respectfully from the Sandaime Raikage of Kumogakure._

Tsunade's grin was growing even wider.

'_This is payback for dumping all this paper work on me brat.'_

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Well this chap is done hope you all enjoyed it.


	32. Now things are getting interesting

Well here's another chap I hope you all enjoy it.

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Naruto groaned as he stood up from his spot on the floor of the apartment. It had been nearly three days since Naruto had 'moved in' with Ina. It was awkward but not unbearable.

'_Flashback'_

_Naruto and Ina arrived at the front of an apartment complex. Ina looked rather hesitant but after a few seconds she sighed and started trekking up the stairs. Naruto muttered obscenities to the Raikage (who was pretty much laughing his ass off in his office at the moment) before following her._

_They arrived at the door and Ina drew a set of key's from her pocket. She fumbled around with them for a bit and finally unlocked the door. "Welcome to my humble abode" She mumbled before entering._

_Naruto walked in right behind her_

_He got inside and took in the apartment. It was a medium sized studio apartment. To his right was the area where the kitchen was to his left was the area where she kept all her ninja equipment. Naruto was fairly surprised when he saw equipment to sharpen and even repair weapons here. Most ninja usually just went to a weapon shop to get things repaired or sharpened. _

_Never one to let his curiosity go unsatisfied he decided to ask. "Do you repair your own weapons?"_

_Ina put her bow on a custom stand and placed her kunai and shuriken on a counter before nodding. "Yeah since we use Chakra to soften metal instead of fire it helps practice my chakra control."_

_Naruto raised his eyebrows in slight surprise. He never thought of training in chakra control that way._

_Naruto looked around some more and noticed a small set of drawers with pictures on top of it. He wordlessly walked over and looked at them. One was of Mori holding Ina as a baby another was of Mori handing Katsu his Anbu uniform and a third was of a man he didn't know carrying a six year old Ina on his shoulders while ruffling a twelve year old Katsu's hair. _

_He looked around the room some more and then noticed something that made his eye's go wide with horror..._

'_Flashback end'_

Naruto grunted as the bones in his back gave a loud cracking sound as he lifted himself off the hardwood floor.

Why was he on the floor again? Oh yeah…

_Flashback_

"_YOU DON'T HAVE A COUCH AND YOU ONLY HAVE ONE BED!"_

_Naruto's loud voice boomed through the small apartment. Ina winced at both the volume and the truth of his words._

_Unknown to her however another voice was also speaking._

"_**Come on brat… you make it sound like a bad thing."**_

'_IT IS A BAD THING'_

"_**You can lie to yourself all you want but you cant lie to me. I know what dwells in your mind"**_

_With that said Kyuubi once again swarmed Naruto's mind with images. Naruto blushed furiously as an image of &&(!(#$& appeared in his mind._

_(Sorry but the rating of the story doesn't cover that sort of thing)_

_Naruto's head very nearly exploded from all the blood rushing to his cheeks. He steeled himself and gatherd his thoughts. 'The seven layers of hell cannot match the amount of hate I posses for you right now'_

"_**Yeah yeah whatever you say." Kyuubi waved off his treat dismissively.**_

"_WILL YOU STOP SPACING OUT ON ME!" Naruto then noticed that Ina was talking to him. He smiled a bit sheepishly "Sorry what was that again?" She suddenly shoved blankets and a pillow on him._

"_Here you're sleeping on the floor"_

_Naruto grumbled but complied. He set up his things as she took a shower. When she came out Naruto took his own shower and decided to get some new clothes in the morning._

_Flashback end_

The morning of the second day was…hectic to say the least. Naruto being a guy and being used to living on his own completely forgot about the fact that there was another person in the house. He got up and walked to the bathroom in his half sleep state he didn't hear the sound of running watter.

As he entered the bathroom his nose was assilted by the scent of steam making his bleary eyes flutter open.

He saw a feminine figure dressed in nothing but a towel. His mind was still loading. It did however process a simple thought. _'Damn she's hot'_

He blinked onece

Then twice

Then a third time.

His eyes widened in shock and a blush graced his cheeks. Then he saw Ina's infuriated face. "OH SHI…" He was unable to finish his sentence as a fist slammed into his face and sent him flying right through the window…the fifth story window.

"HENTAI"

When Naruto had regained consciousness Ina came out of the shower and furiously beat him to within an inch of his teenage life. Naruto was sure that without his supernatural healing powers he would have, at the very least, been forced to remain in the hospital for a month.

The rest of the day was rather uneventful. Naruto got up bought some new clothes that were similar to the ones he had so he wouldn't have to wear the same clothes again. Ina showed him around the village for a while and then they ate. By the time they were done it was already nine so they decided to go back to get some rest.

So here on the third day Naruto woke up to find Ina already walking out of the shower. "Good morning Naruto." She said absently running a towel through her hair

"Good morning" He replied yawning

"So what do you want to do today?"

Naruto shrugged "How about we train for a while."

Ina nodded "Sure why not?"

Naruto then took a shower and dressed in his new clothes. He nodded to Ina and they both started walking toward the training ground.

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Ina stood panting on the training grounds using her bow to support herself. They had been training for hours now and Ina was practically dead on her feet while Naruto with his ungodly stamina was only slightly winded.

Ina once again stood and drew her bow back. She took out an arrow and aimed it at him.

"Now now Ina if you keep that up your gonna collapse from exhaustion." He chided while shaking his finger.

Ina narrowed her eyes. "Bite me" She growled out as she shot the arrow. Naruto leaned his head to the side letting the projectile pass him by harmlessly. He then noticed a wire and saw Ina doing hand seals. Not wanting a repeat of what happened last time he swiftly cut the wire with his sword.

"Don't you think that trick's getting a little old?" His smirk disappeared as he saw Ina's sadistic smirk of her own.

"Oh? Well if you think that then how about I show you a new trick."

Naruto's sharp ears caught the sound of a shuriken sailing through the air. He turned around and barely avoided the projectile that would have struck his shoulder.

He heard a poping sound he turned around again and noticed the Shuriken had turned into another clone. The clone once again threw a shuriken and he dodged easily. Another poof and Naruto turned to find a third clone but unlike the others this one didn't throw a shuriken or kunai. It was holding something.

Naruto realized with sudden horror that it was wire.

He followed the wire and found it connecting to the other two clones He then realized what she had done. He had cut the first wire that was connected to her first arrow but he didn't cut the wire that any of the clones threw.

Ina stood on the sidelines grinning triumphantly. "Looks like I win"

Naruto turned and smiled at her. She smiled back but it disappeared as Naruto also disappeared in a puff of smoke. "Damn."

Now now there's no need for such language. He said as he put his arm around her neck while standing behind her.

Ina struggled against his grip but Naruto was much stronger than her.

"**You're enjoying this aren't you?"  
**

Naruto paused for a moment and that pause was enough for Ina to turn in his grasp and throw a punch to his face. Naruto snapped out of his daze at the last second and jercked to the side.

The sudden movement made him lose his balance however and he fell to the ground. Unfortunately or fortunately depending on your perspective he still held Ina in his grasp making the young girl fall with him.

She had been pulled right on top of him. Their eyes met, and everything appeared to blur out of their vision except each other. Their lips were only a few inches apart, and the distance slowly began to close. They were close, their noses were almost touching when they suddenly heard some store clerk screaming that some guy had stolen his merchandise .

The noise brought them back to reality, and Ina jumped up and off of him. Both of them were blushing redder than a tomato. Finally when they calmed down enough, Ina extended her hand down to Naruto. He took it, and the contact only served to return their blushes to their original intensity.

Once he was able to speak again, Naruto said, "W-we should head back and get something to eat." Ina nodded and they started walking blushing all the way

Naruto and Ina were both plagued with thoughts about the incident. They both couldn't help but think the same thing. _'Were we really going to kiss eachother back there?'_

They were both pulled out of their thoughts as a voice called out. "Ina!"

Naruto turned around and was greeted by the sight of some guy kissing Ina full on the lips. His eyes flashed red for a moment and his blood boiled at the sight. His inner demon whispered different forms of torture in his ear and he was forced to fight back a grin that could have sent Gaara running scared.

Ina pushed back against the kiss and laid eyes on the person. "Kansuke!" She said happily. Still she couldn't shake the voice that said that the kiss she just received just…didn't _feel_ right.

The newly named Kansuke grinned at her. He was about eighteen with light brown hair teal eyes and a Jounin outfit. He wore his forehead protector on his arm much like Gaara.

Naruto did his very best to push down the rather…disturbing thoughts concerning how many different things he could do to kill the bastard that stood before him and cleared his throat.

Ina turned back to him with her cheeks red with embarrassment. "Oh Naruto sorry, this is my boyfried Kansuke. Kansuke this is Naruto.

Naruto extended his hand. "Nice to meet you" He said with a fake smile.

"**Tear out heart. Rip out his throat."**

Naruto once again beat down his baser instincts into submission.

Ignorant of the blonds struggle Kansuke smiled at him. "Nice to meet you too" He then turned back to Ina. "Hey I was wondering if you wanted to go get something to eat with me?"

Ina smiled. "Sure I've been showing Naruto around and we were just going to get something to eat ourselves."

Naruto smiled. "Nah you guy's go, three's a crowd."_ 'And I don't think I could stay here another three seconds without killing this idiot'_

Ina turned back to him with a slightly concerned expression. "You sure?"

Naruto closed his eyes and smiled. Ina thought there was something strange about the smile but didn't give it too much thought as Naruto turned to leave.

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Throughout the date Ina's thoughts continued to drift to Naruto. She realized that when he smiled as he walked away what was strange was that his eyes were closed he never did that before hand.

She unexplainably had a strange guilt creep into her gut for some reason.

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Meanwhile Mori saw the whole thing from behind his crystal ball and smiled. "Now the fun begins."


	33. The break up

Here's another chap I hope you all like it.

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It had been almost two weeks since Naruto met Kansuke and Ina had noticed that his smiles always seemed more forced than before. Sure they still trained together and other things since Naruto really had nothing better to do.

Kansuke also ended up coming by while they trained, but Ina felt weird with him around. She no longer got that warm, fuzzy feeling whenever he hugged or kissed her. Infact she began to feel slightly disgusted by it actually. She didn't hate him or anything, and he was still her friend, but she didn't think she liked him in 'that way' anymore. And the poor girl had no idea why. (So naive) She knew that she would have to break up with him but she didn't want to hurt his feelings. Kansuke still seemed to like her.

If she could just figure out a way to break it off without destroying the small friendship they had, that would be perfect. However the poor girl couldn't think of a way. She just had to lay it all out for him, and hope that there were no hard feelings.

Ina found Kansuke later that day with some of his friends, including a blond girl who was practically clinging to him. The raven haired girl didn't particularly care about this though. She didn't like him anymore, so he could be with who he wanted. She went over and asked him could she talk in private. He talked with the guys for a few more seconds, and then followed her out the door. They ended up stopping in an alleyway.

The two stopped halfway down the alleyway with Kansuke looking even more smug than usual. He looked very handsome standing tall like he was, with his sword strapped tightly to his back. Although she didn't find him really attractive anymore either. Ina really had no idea what was wrong with her. She even found herself mentally comparing him to Naruto. The young Jounin girl shook it off in order to prepare for what was going to transpire.

"So Ina why did you call me back here?"Kansuke asked, although he sounded as if he already knew what she wanted.

"Well, you see Kansuke..." She said starting to slow down. _Okay just say it quickly and get it over with._ "I don't think that we can be... together, anymore. I don't really think I like you in that way. No hard feelings?" She asked hopefully.

Kansuke was silent for some time. This was obviously not what he was expecting. After a short time of silence, you could tell he was angry. In that moment she knew that whatever remained of their friendship was gone.

"You're... breaking up with me?"He said, sounding much more angry than heartbroken.

"Yes, I am. I'm sorry Kansuke."She said, now a little more on guard.

"There's another man isn't there_!" _He said, now starting to raise his voice and sounding furious.

"Wha-"She started before being cut off.

"I said that there's another man isn't there? Who is it! Wait... its that Naruto guy isn't it!"

"What are you talking abou-"

"I knew that you two were spending to much time with each other! You two have probably already shared a bed!"

Ina was now starting to turn several shades of red, but not all of them were from embarrassment. Many were from anger. How dare he accuse her of cheating on him when he was with that floozy girl! She was practically seething. She may not have cared about the two being together now, but she bet that they were acting like that when she and Kansuke were together as well.

"I never want to see your face again! Get out of my sight Ina! You will be sure that your Grandfather will hear about you having a relationship with an outsider!"Kansuke yelled at her.

"Fine then! I never wanted to see you again anyway! Why else would I break up with you!" She yelled as she pulled back her fist and decked him right in the face, sending him to the floor.

"Yo-you...you... hit me_..." _He started surprised, but that too soon turned to anger. "You'll regret doing that."The man said as he stood up once again, and backhanded her in the face. Ina fell to the ground just as he did, with anger welling up in her eyes.

"I'll make sure you regret hitting me."Kansuke said again, raising his hand back to strike her again. Ina suddenly kicked him in the gut from her position on the floor and then backflipped. Kicking him in the face in the process.

Kansuke took out a kunai and moved to attack her again when his hand was grabbed from behind and pushed further on his back causing pain. His arm was bent further back than it was supposed to. He released the kunai and did his best not to cry out in pain.

"**Touch her again and I'll tear out your throat."**Naruto said, as he kept Kansuke still. He had obviously been near the alley the whole time, listening to their conversation if the apple in his hand was any indication. Ina was starting to get slightly annoyed with constantly being 'saved', but she supposed that it wasn't unwelcome. He was very nice, and he cared for her. Unlike Kansuke. At the moment she wished she were strong enough to kick his ass on her own. However she knew that it wasn't going to happen since she didn't have her bow with her. Maybe she should train in unarmed combat a bit more seriously?

"Ina are you allright?"

"Yes Naruto, I think I'm alright."Ina told him while absently rubbing her red cheek. When Naruto saw this he tightened his hold on Kansuke making him scream for a second, before pushing him towards the exit to the alley.

Kansuke recovered before he fell and quickly drew his sword and charged at Naruto. Naruto drew a kunai and blocked the swipe effortlessly. He then back handed Kansuke in the face. Sending him crashing into the side of a building.

Kansuke got out of the crack he had made in the wall and charged at Naruto swinging his sword like a madman.

Naruto could tell that the guy was strong but with his mind clouded with anger his strikes were clumsy and Naruto blocked all of the strikes effortlessly.

Meanwhile his inner demon was once again raving like a lunatic about how this was his chance to kill the fool.

When Kansuke saw he wasn't getting anywhere with his sword he backed off and threw some explosive tags at Naruto. Naruto's eyes widened slightly. He turned and grabbed Ina by the waist and jumped up to the roof of the building next to them.

He landed on the roof and gently put Ina down. "Go and get some help. I don't want to have to hurt him but I may have to if the fight drags on to long." When Naruto said hurt he was referring to permanently ending his ninja carrier by taking off a limb…or two…or three.

Ina hesitated. She hated that she was leaving him to fight…again. She wasn't a little girl that had to be protected from every little thing. But still…without her weapon she was practically useless in a fight since most of her jutsu's were long range jutsu's. She sighed muttering something about never leaving her weapon at home when she was planning on breaking up with some jackass with a jealousy problem before running off.

Naruto turned back to find Kansuke charging at him. Naruto pulled his sword out while still maintaining it sheathed. His purpose here was to stall Kansuke not kill him. No matter what his inner demon demanded. Besides he refused to become some barbarian that was driven by pure instinct.

Kansuke swung at him with a swipe at his mid section. Naruto blocked the attack. Kansuke tried a second swing at Naruto's face. Naruto leaned his head back ad then blocked a third attack that was aimed at his legs.

Kansuke moved to strike again but Naruto delivered a solid kick to his gut making the young jounin double over in pain. Naruto follwed it through by bringing his knee up and slamming it right into Kansuke's chin. He heard some shattering and crunching noises, indicating he had broken a few teeth.

Kansuke fell to the ground with muffled screams as he clutched his mouth and spit out his broken teeth.

Naruto took a calm stance as he waited for the Kumo jounin to stand.

Kansuke struggled to his feet and spit out the large quantity of blood that was flowing from inside his mouth. "Bastard." He said with malice.

Naruto continued to look on impassively. Even though on the inside he wanted nothing more than to rip this fool to shreds with his bear claws it wasn't his place and it might cause an international incident.

Kansuke stood and glared at Naruto.

After several several seconds Naruto got tired of his glaring. "What? You planning on staring at me all day moron."

Kansuke narrowed his eyes in anger and charged at Naruto again. He tried to swing at Naruto's head but the blond lazily blocked the attack with his sheathed sword and then pushed it to the side. Then in one fluid motion he used the sword and slammed it down on Kansuke's foot.

Kansuke screamed in pain but Naruto wasn't done. He punched Kansuke right in the stomach with all his strength making the air leave the Kumo nin's lungs in a heart beat. Naruto still didn't stop his assault and then slammed his sword into Kansuke's throat (remember it's still sheathed) making him choke as he tried to suck in air back to his lungs.

Kansuke was now clutching both his stomach and his throat with the sword barely being held in his right arm. With the last remaining strength he had he tried to swing at Naruto again. The blond once again stopped the sloppy swing and decked Kansuke right in the jaw with his other hand.

Kansuke skidded on the roof of the building a few feet before he came to a complete stop.

He once again started to stand.

"Kansuke my patience is reaching it's limits. Stay down. This is your only warning."

Kansuke was still wheezing and coughing as he tried to get air back in his lungs. He got to his feet and charged at Naruto again. He moved as fast as he could and aimed his sword to stab Naruto in the face.

Naruto unsheathed his sword and calmly placed put the blade near the sword's intended path.

The two blades scrapped against each other but Kansuke's sword still continued to move closer to Naruto with no sign of stopping.

When the blade was only seven inches away from his face Naruto lightly tossed his sword in the air and caught it in a reverse grip. And then in one fluid motion he sliced off Kansuke's fingers making him drop the sword in his hand. Kansuke screamed in pain. He moved to punch Naruto with his other hand but the blond suddenly vanished.

Kansuke suddenly felt something moving down his neck he touched it and was surprised that it was sticky and wet. He inspected his finger and found the liquid was blood. His eyes widened as he felt the small almost razor thin cut along the side of his neck.

He looked back and found Naruto standing twenty feet away with his back toward him. and his sword still sheathed.

He grinned a grin that clearly showed he was out of his mind. "Hehehehe, just you wait. After I'm done with you I'll take care of that whore girl of mine and then I'll kill her too."

That's when Naruto lost it. He saw red and his chakra flared to unbelievable levels. In a blink he was gone.

The last thing Kansuke saw before everything went black was a flash of silver.

Naruto stood behind the unconscious form of Kansuke panting hard. Not because he was tired but because of the fact of how much energy it took to hold himself back from actually swiping the fools head off. His inner demon was screaming at him to rip his heart out and feel the blood flow down his hands. At the last minute he was able to change the trajectory of his sword and aimed for a spot that wouldn't kill the bastard instantly but could prove fatal if not treated soon.

Just then the Anbu showed up with Ina standing with her bow ready.

The Anbu saw Kansuke's unconscious form and immediately rushed the ninja to the hospital. Two more Anbu along with Ina stood waiting for Naruto.

Ina calmly walked over to the blond's side. "You okay?" Naruto nodded at her.

"I'm fine how's your face." He said as he leaned to the side to see the cheek Kansuke had hit. She waved him off dissmisively. "I'll be fine I've taken harder hit's than that."

Naruto noticed that the cheek was still red and growled deeply. _'Should have broken more of the bastard's teeth.' _He thought angrily.

The Anbu approached him next. "Naruto-san we will take you in for questioning."

Naruto nodded and moved to walk with them but a voice came from behind them. "That will not be necessary."

All eyes turned to see Mori standing on the edge of the building. "Raikage-sama" The Anbu chorused and bowed at the old man. "I witnessed the entire event from my crystal ball. Naruto acted on self defense. And after an open declaration to harm a shinobi of kumo in the future, a crime that is punishable by death, was when Naruto put him in the state he was found in."

The Anbu all looked rather hesitant but soon nodded and left.

In truth the old man wasn't even a little angry. Infact he felt rather giddy as he saw how angry Naruto got when Kansuke threatened his granddaughter. He also saw the anger flicker in his eyes when Naruto looked at Ina's reddened cheek. He also couldn't help but feel impressed at the boy's skill. Kansukewas a mid-level Jounin and Naruto was merely toying with him the entire time.

Naruto breathed a sigh of relief and surprisingly so did Ina.

"Still for appearances sake I want a full report on the events that occurred this evening on my desk tomorrow morning."

With that Mori vanished in a puff of smoke.

Naruto turned back to Ina with a small almost apologetic smile on his face. "Is there any place you would like to go?" He asked with a hint of concern in his voice. Ina caught the concern in his voice and figured that he wanted to take her mind off of things.

She nodded with a small smile on her features. They started walking down the street toward the market district.

They didn't even notice as their hands interlocked with eachother.

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But two other people sure did.

Katsu who was hiding in one of the nearby rooftops and Mori who was gazing from his crystal ball each gave identical grins as they saw the action.

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Well here's another chapter I hope it wasn't too bad. Naruto will be returning to Konoha probably in the following chapter.


	34. Ina's embarasment and preparing a return

Well here's another chapter I hope you all like it.

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"We got it!" Ina held up the plastic bag holding Katsu's new sword with triumph. They had gone to seven different blacksmiths to find the one she wanted for him.

The reason she was buying him a sword was because of his recent promotion to Anbu captain and both she, her grandfather and all of his friends were going to throw him a party in the Raikage residence.

"Great now we can go eat." Naruto said as they began walking. This was rather strange it had been a few weeks since the fight with Kansuke and Naruto was sure someone was just waiting in the shadows ready to pounce on them.

"And we almost made it home without you killing someone! Yay!" Ina smiled up at Naruto. "Hang in there we're almost--"

"INA!" Ina froze in her tracks and her eyes widen in horror. Slowly she turned around to see three girls running towards her. Naruto turned around as well and watched the bubbly girls make their way towards them.

"Hi Yuka, Eri, and Ayumi." She said nervously when they reached her. "How are you guys?"

(As some of you may have noticed they have the same names as Kagome's friends on Inuyasha…Well the truth is…I couldn't think of any other names so I just put these in here.)

"How are we?" Yuka placed her hands on her hips and gave Ina scolding glare. "You haven't called us in weeks! Last time we heard about you, we heard you were killed in Kiri! Why don't you ever call when you come back?"

"Heh Heh..." Ina dropped her head and rubbed the back of her neck nervously. "You see"

"Who is this?" Yuka was staring at Naruto, now noticing him.

"Um... Yuka, Eri...Ayumi, meet Naruto my...uh..." a sudden thought entered her head. What was Naruto to her? Ina started to blush as the girls surrounded Naruto, their mouths open, their eyes huge as they looked at the handsome blond infront of them.

Naruto looked over at Ina, who blushed a nice crimson red. _This is far to good to pass up''_ Naruto thought with an evil smirk as he used a great deal of energy to temporarily control his smirk. "Lover." He finished her sentence for her and placed his arm tightly around her waist.

Naruto would be the first to admit it he LOVED putting people in embarrassing situations. He was a prankster through and through. And even though he knew he was going to have to run for his life later it would be worth it.

Ina meanwhile was cursing at Naruto through her mind and was mentally yelling out enough curses to make Tayuya of the sound four cringe.

She found herself surprised that the actual comment didn't bother her but the fact that he had said it infront of these three that bothered her the most.

All four girls gasped and Ina's eyes glittered with fury. "INA!" All three girls shrieked at the same time. "Why didn't you tell us?" Ayumi whined.

"He seems sweet, go for it Ina!" Eri said, completely oblivious to the world around her.

"He isn't like that two-timing bastard of an ex-boyfriend of yours is he?" Yuka gave him a hard glare. She had heard of what Kansuke had done and that's when they went looking for Ina

"I am the one who beat him." Naruto said, assuming they met Kansuke beforehand. All three girls gasped and if it were possible, Ina turned a darker shade of red as she mumbled curses to Naruto under her breath. It was common knowledge that Kansuke ranked somewhere in the top twenty ninja of Kumo. The highest two being Mori, her grandfather and Katsu, her brother.

"Ina is moving on this quick?" Yuka asked with shock. Then she smiled wickedly. "Nice catch Ina!" Ina covered her face with her hands as she could feel them staring at her. She was going to KILL Naruto.

"Ahaha..." She laughed nervously. "We have to go now, we've got many things we have to be doing." They all grinned mischievously and gave Ina an 'I know what you're two are gonna go do' look. Ina waved her hands frantically in the air. "No! My brother has a party we have to go too."

"Already meeting the family." Ayumi smiled dreamily. "Soon we'll be at Ina's wedding!"

Ina dropped her head in defeat as her three friends began to plan her wedding. She felt someone grab her arm and looked up to see Yuka pulling her away from Naruto a bit (obviously no more than three feet). Covering the side of her mouth with her hand, Yuka whispered in Ina's ear. "So...how is he?" She said in a hush whisper.

Not hush enough for Naruto not to hear. Ina could see his dancing eyes and his smirking face. Kami he was enjoying her humiliation!

"Because I've only had but one man. He looks like he could be a sex g-" Ina covered Yuka's mouth.

"We'll talk later." She promised. She knew that they wouldn't leave until she either told them what they wanted to hear or if she told them that she would tell them later. So she choose the lesser of two evils.

"Ok!" She smiled. "See you around Ina, see you later...Naruto." The three girls began walking away, skipping, arms linked with each other. Ina knew exactly what they were talking about.

She turned to Naruto. "I…hate…you." She said it so slowly it took a full seven seconds to get it out. The two began walking and Ina felt an arm wrap around her waist.

"But I was just getting even. For that time you hit me when I went to wake you up in the hotsprings and for all the times you've used that damn lightning jutsu on me while we spar." He said.

"NO! That was not getting even, that was like...no. Just no." Was all Ina could say. She was still red, and he cheeks were still burning.

"So...how am I?" Naruto asked, making her cheeks turn into a deeper shade of red. He was really liking to tease her. The reaction he was getting was great. "Am I a sex god?" He leaned down and whispered in her ear, his lips tauntingly close.

Normally he wouldn't be this forward but his inner demon, inner prankster and fox like personality had all taken over for the time being.

Ina felt her cheeks grow hot and her heart began to beat. No she would not allow him to do this to her. He was just teasing her and she would NOT fall for it. No matter how good he looked, no matter how weak in the knees she got, she would not fall for it. "You're about an eight." Ina shrugged.

"An eight?" Naruto stood up and said with a some fake shock. Even though one could see the amusement in his eyes and hear it in his voice.

"Yeah I'm not really getting any satisfaction from you lately." Ina pretended to sigh. "I've been meaning to tell you, but I didn't want to hurt your feelings. I know how sensitive men can be on these issues."

Ina leaned down again, his hot breath on her ear, his hold around her waist becoming tighter. "I'll just have to show you a ten later." Ina blushed and opened her mouth to say something but when the words finally came to her Naruto was already walking slightly ahead of her.

She cursed under her breath but followed anyway.

Mori continued to smile as he ate popcorn while gazing into his crystal ball.

He was still completely ignoring the small mountain of paperwork on his desk. He was enjoying himself far to much to bother with insignificant things like running a village of ninja.

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After Naruto and Ina had eaten Ina started to lead him to the Raikage residence. The Raikage residence was hidden deep in the mountain. It was about ten minutes away from the village and had extremely rough terrain, making it an excellent defensive position.

When they finally reached the residence they he was not surprised to see that the cliff faces surrounded the two story mansion like a giant stone hand protecting with a stone embrace.

It had a Dojo near and rather impressive garden. The statues of the two previous Kages were carved directly into the mountain. The statues were seven feet tall and were holding their hands in a simple seal.

Naruto was impressed by the sheer magnitude of the mansion. But he was cut off from his musings as he heard Ina walk into the house. He started walkig in. He could already hear voices coming from inside the house and figured that they must have already started the party.

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Ina walked into the mansion and was greeted by the sight of her smiling grandfather. "Ina I was wondering when you would arrive. Where is Naruto by the way?"

Ina blinked and turned around to find that Naruto wasn't behind her. Just then the door opened and it revealed the blond carrying a rather heavy looking bag on his back. "Don't tell me we're late." He said smiling slightly.

Mori smiled back at him. "Not at all Naruto. Come in and join us."

Naruto smiled and walked into the house with the sword on his back. He placed it on a stack where all the presents were and walked over to where Ina and Katsu were standing. He could tell that the other Kumo nin were weary of his presence since he was still a Leaf nin. Who up until that point kumo was in a sort of cold with his nation.

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Despite their hesitation after about thirty minutes most of the Kumo nin had taken a liking to Naruto and the party went off without a hitch.

After it was over Naruto and Ina stayed to help clean up the mess along with Katsu and Mori. Naruto had made a couple of extra clones and they were done.

"Well grandpa Katsu we should get going now. I'll see you guy's tomorrow." She grabbed Naruto's hand and started to drag him out but Mori soon called after her. "Ina you and Naruto are to show up in my office at noon tomorrow understand?"

Ina and Naruto both nodded and walked out of the mansion.

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The next day.

Ina and Naruto shuffled through their morning routine and soon headed out to the Raikage tower.

When they arrived they were once again greeted by the sight of a smiling Mori…well he was smiling from what they could see behind his paperwork. Apparently the old man's spying had caused a slight build up in work.

Nevertheless Mori smiled brightly at the two adolescents "Ahh yes both of you come in and sit down please."

Naruto and Ina complied and the old man had to struggle to see them through the mountain of paperwork. "Well now the reason that I've called you two here is because our negotiations with Konoha are officially over and Naruto is now able to return to his village."

He waited for the information to process in their minds and watched the filter of emotions cross their faces.

Naruto was torn he was happy that he would be able to go back home and see his friends and his brothers if they were in town but another part was devastated that he wouldn't be able to see Ina. He had gotten use to waking up to the sight of her face. Just the thought of leaving made his stomach twist in the wrong way.

Ina on the other hand was also shocked. Naruto had become a dear friend to her and just the thought of him going back to his village and her not being able to see him again made a pain cross her heart.

Mori watched the emotions and he had to fight down a smirk. _'Hehehe, everything is working perfectly. Now for the killing blow.'_

"Now as an official act to solidify our alliance it is obligatory for the villages involved to 'trade' ninja. Now the Gondaime Hokage of Konoha wishes for Naruto to return to his teammates and start his jounin duties. So he cannot stay, they will send another person to us. Now the reason I called you here Ina was to ask if you would be willing to go with Naruto and stay in Konoha with him."

Ina's head shot up fast and her eyes held a strange look of relief _'Hook line and sinker'_

Ina nodded with a smile on her face. "I would love to."

Naruto also felt a strange sense of relief flood him at the news.

Mori nodded and smiled brightly. "Exelent I will finish the paperwork and you two can leave in three days. Dismissed." They nodded and walked out the door with a sense of relief because of the fact that the time they had together wouldn't be cut short.

Mori smiled at his retreating granddaughters back. His smile turned into a chibi teary eyed frown as he gazed at the mountain of paperwork.

"WWWWWWWWHHHYYYYYYYYYYYY! KAMI TAKE THIS DEMON CALLED PAPPERWORK AWAY! MAKE IT GO AWAY!" He wailed to the cloudy sky.

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Just a short filler here. Next time we see what Haku, Zabuza and Gaara were up to during Naruto's say in Kumo.

(Might take a while)


	35. What the brothers have been up to

Well here's another chap I hope you all enjoy it.

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Naruto and Ina stood before the looming gates of Konohagakure. Their return from Kumo had been uneventful. The only really interesting part was when Mori and Katsu sent them off they had these strange smiles on their faces.

An ANBU suddenly appeared infront of them in a swirl of leaves. "Halt! State your name and purpose for visiting Konoha."

Naruto absently flicked his forehead protector with his thumb. "Uzumaki Naruto, returning from alliance negotiations in Kumo."

The ANBU nodded and pointed to Ina. "And you?"

"Kumo representative." She answered simply.

The ANBU nodded. "Very well two Anbu members will come to escort you soon. Please wait here."

With that the ANBU disappeared in a swirl of leaves. A few moments later two ANBU arrived on the scene. "We are to escort you to the Kage tower." Naruto and Ina nodded and they started making their way toward the large tower.

When they reached the front door the ANBU vanished so Naruto and Ina continued on their own. They finally reached the door to Tsunade's office. Naruto was about to move his hand to open it but his senses suddenly picked something up and reflexes took over.

He jumped back and pushed Ina to the side just as Jiraiya came crashing through the door, right infront of the spot where Naruto once stood.

"DAMN PERVERT!" Tsunade bellowed from the inside of her office.

Naruto and Ina suddenly heard a crash coming from down the hallway and a faint groan of pain. Naruto could swear he heard a weakened, pained yet slightly happy voice whisper. "It was worth the pain."

Naruto and Ina slowly peeked their heads from the side of the door and saw Tsunade sitting at her desk signing papers so fast Naruto was surprised they didn't catch fire. He could have sworn that he saw a tinge of pink on her cheeks but it had vanished so quickly he believed it was nothing but the lights playing tricks on him.

Ina however was more than a little intimidated by this woman. From the short glimpse she had gotten of the man he appeared to be much bigger than the woman sitting before her. So it was quite a feat that she seemed to be able to throw him that far and not even look winded. (She seems to have forgotten that she had done the same thing to Naruto on two different occasions.)

Tsunade looked up at Naruto and suddenly her face turned into a bright smile. "Naruto it's good to have you back." She turned to Ina. "And I assume this is the representative from Kumo?" _'Hmm so this is the one the Raikage has been working to pair him up with.'_

Ina nodded and bowed to Tsunade. "It's an honor to meet you Hokage-sama."

Tsunade just like Mori waved her off. "Please drop the formalities. I can tell that just like Naruto it's probably the most forced thing you've ever done in your life."

Ina raised an eyebrow and turned to Naruto. "You don't call her Hokage-sama?"

Naruto shook his head while Tsunade grabbed a book. A very big book.

"Then what do you call her?"

"Baa-chan" The book suddenly came flying out of nowhere and hit him right on the side of his head knocking him out.

Ina turned to Tsunade who was still sitting at her desk with a big, satisfied smile on her face. "I told the brat not to call me that."

The fact that she was still smiling and was using a very sweet voice creped Ina out a little bit. She walked over to Naruto's swirly eyed form. "Ummm, is he dead?" She asked as she leaned down and started to poke him.

Tsunade snorted. "Yeah right, his head is the hardest thing on the planet. I could have thrown a block of lead with all my strength and the brat would probably get knocked out with nothing but a small bump. Anyway don't worry about him for now. We have to decide where you're going to stay."

Ina nodded and walked over to a chair. Tsunade shifted through some pappers and then turned back to face her. "Unlike Kumo where a representative is allowed a temporary residence of their own. Here In Konoha we take a different practice. "Since Konoha has had many different incidents where war has been declared or nearly declared it is mandatory that all representatives have supervision by at least one Konoha shinobi of chuunin rank or higher." _'Well it's not a complete lie. They have to have some form of supervision while they're in the village.'_

Ina glared at Tsunade. "Your setting me up to stay in Naruto's place aren't you?"

Tsunade nearly winced but managed to cover it up at the last minute. _'Well at least she's smart.' _She thought positively. She decided that she was going to have to work a little more subtly than she expected, otherwise this girl was going to know something was up and might take it the wrong way. She might think that her village would only be using her as an arranged marriage to form an alliance. She might block Naruto out completely and that Tsunade did not want.

"Not necessarily. You can always choose someone to supervise you. If you can't choose then one will be appointed for you. I figured you would be more comfortable with Naruto since the Raikage already stated in his reports that he was staying with you when he was in Kumo."

Ina had a fleeting suspicion that something was up but she had to admit that Tsunade's words held logic. She nodded abeit hesitantly and spoke. "All right I'll stay with him."

"Stay with who?" Came the voice of both Naruto and Jiraiya as one regained consciousness and the other walked through the busted door.

Ina and Tsunade turned to face them. Tsunade motioned Ina with her hand. "Ina will be staying with Naruto while she's here in Konoha." Naruto and Ina looked at eachother and smiled.

Jiraiya saw the interaction between them and got a lecherous grin on his face as he sized Ina up. _'Hnn, not bad brat she's gonna be even hotter when she's older.'_

He started getting chibi tears _'I taught you well my student.' _He took out a familiar notebook and started writing down some notes.

The others in the room noticed his actions, causing two to send massive waves of killing intent at him while the other raised an eyebrow in question.

Ina decided to ask. "Ummb what's he doing?"

Tsunade was the one that decided to answer. "He scribbling notes down for that damnable book of his. It's called Icha Icha paradise."

Ina's eyes widened for a split second and suddenly got a murderous look in them. The killer intent spiked very high and Jiraiya suddenly had a chill run up his spine. He turned around and was immediately greeted by Ina and Tsunade's fists.

Now Tsunade had some freakish strength on her own but Ina also had some unexplainable rise in strength when she encountered perverts. So you combine both of their strength and you get a rather painful result.

Jiraiya was sent rocketing away until he was nothing but a small twinkle in the horizon.

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In Otogakure Orochimaru was sitting in his own office having his morning tea. He looked at the clock on the wall. _'Hmmm, time to destroy the paperwork again.' _Hesuddenlytookoutaratherlargestackofpapers and placed them right along the edge of the balcony.

'_Three, Two, One…'_

A white and red blur suddenly shot right through the stack of paperwork at such speeds it was torn to shreds.

'_Hmm Tsunade must have hit him really hard this week. That was faster than the speed he normally flies at.' _

Now one might wonder why one such as Orochimaru wouldn't kill his one time friend/teammate/rival now that he was down?

Well the answer is simple. For one he could never figure out where the hell Jiraiya would land but if he actually did kill him then he would have to suffer through the horrors known as paperwork.

So Orochimaru decided to let Jiraiya live for the time being.

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Tsunade turned back to the two teenagers in her office. "You two are dismissed."

They both nodded and walked out of the office after Naruto had destroyed Jiraiya's notebook with a Katon jutsu.

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As the two teenagers were walking down the street that led to Naruto's apartment when they suddenly got the feeling that someone was following them.

Naruto slowly turned around and found a square 'rock' with eyeholes in it. He had to smile at the kids antics. "Allright brat get out here. Your disguise is way too obvious."

The 'rock' suddenly exploded in a puff of smoke and three coughing kids emerged. "Udon you put to much gunpowder again!" The first kid with black hair spoke up. "Sorry Udon said while he continued to cough.

Ina stared in confusion as the kids started posing and then declared themselves the 'Konohamaru' corps. Naruto smiled and kneeled down so he was at eye level with the three. "Well now what are you three doing here?"

"Hey leader who's that?" Konohamaru asked pointing to Ina. Naruto looked at Ina and then turned to the Konohamaru corps. "This is Ina she's a friend of mine. Now why are you here again?"

The three kids looked back at Naruto and their smiles were so bright they could block out the sun. "Leader! Don't you remember you said you were going to take us flying when you got back from your mission."

Naruto's eyes shot open. Shortly after he had discovered his new transformation he spent the rest of the day learning how to fly. During which time the Konohamaru corps found him. They started yelling about how cool that was and that they were going to tell all of their families about it. Naruto in a moment of panic offered to take them flying every once in a while if they kept it a secret. They agreed instantly.

"Take you flying?" Ina asked skeptically as she looked at the three youngsters.

Moegi was about to answer but Naruto cut her off as he got between Ina and the children and gave a nervous laugh. "Ohh nothing. You know kids and their overactive imaginations." He said hoping against hope that the kids would get the point.

Obviously they didn't.

Moegi spoke. "No we don't! You promised that you would take us flying using that special technique of yours!"

"What new technique?" Everyone turned around and found Gaara standing in the middle of the road along with Haku and Zabuza,

Ina turned her suspicious eyes on Naruto. "Yeah Naruto What technique are they talking about?" She asked as she eyed Naruto through narrowed eyes.

Zabuza immediately recognized her as the girl that they captured and grinned at himself.

Haku decided to speak up. "Well I'm interested in this new technique as well as the identity of your friend Naruto. Mind introducing us formally since last time we didn't get much of an introduction."

Naruto smiled a little. Hoping to get everyone's mind off of his 'technique' with the small distraction. "Well guy's this is Ina. Ina these are Gaara, Haku and Zabuza,

Ina nodded and smiled at the group. "Well I'm glad that the circumstances for our meeting are different this time."

Haku smiled back at her. "I hope you don't take this the wrong way but, why are you here?"

It was Gaara who answered. "Isn't it obvious? Naruto has managed to secure an alliance with Kumo. They sent Ina here in the same way that Suna sent me and my siblings. As well as Kiri concerning you and Zabuza"

Naruto figured that now was the best time to make a break for it. "Well I'm starving who wants to go to Ichiraku's?"

Alas it was doomed to fail.

"But leadeeerrrr" The three children whined behind him thus reminding everyone just what they were talking about before.

"Umm guy's how about we do this after I've taken care of my other friends. I don't think they want to see any technique right now."

Zabuza could tell that whatever this technique was Naruto wanted to keep it a secret for as long as possible. So what did the demon of the hidden mist do to help his former student.

He made it worse.

"Nahh, I think we all have some spare time to see this new technique of yours don't we guy's?" He asked while looking at everyone in a way that said 'You had better not disagree'

Naruto decided to try one last time. "But I'm hungry."

Zabuza shot forward and placed him in a headlock. He started dragging him all the way to the training ground. "The sooner you finish the sooner you can head back to your wonderful food."

The rest of the rag tag group decided to follow.

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Naruto grumbled loudly as he hefted the two boys under his arms like a sack of potatoes and Moegi had her arms around his neck. "Ready?" The kids nodded smiling at him. He had to smile at their cheerful expressions himself despite his definite annoyance.

He turned his head slightly to still see the spectators standing around waiting for the show. He sighed and started his transformation. His hair turned white and soon white wings sprouted from his back. His tail turned from a fox tail to one of a dragon. Zabuza and the rest of the people were in shock. Gaara's mouth was wide open. Meaning that he was VERY shocked. Haku's eyes were wide open in shock and one could swear they saw a fly go into his mouth.

Zabuza's jaw had reached so low that the bandages were now under his nose. They continued gapping as they saw Naruto fly into the air and started doing barrel rolls and flips and did all sorts of stunts.

Ina was the only one who could speak. "How the hell did this happen?" She turned to the others to see if they had an answer but by the looks on their faces she could already guess.

Naruto landed a few yards infront of them with the three giggling children still clutched onto him. He placed them down. "Allright you three get out of here."

The three kids nodded and started making their way back while talking about how they wanted to learn how to fly.

Naruto turned around and saw the gapping figures of the other four people. He sat down crosslegged and began the long process of waiting for them to get over their shock.

Three and a half hours later

Naruto got up, went home, made a sandwich and came back to continue waiting.

Another three and a half hours later

Zabuza and the rest of the group were now able to form semi coherent sentences "I- Bu-you-wing-air-moving-law of gravity-how?"

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Yet another three and a half hours latter.

Zabuza and the rest of the group managed to get over their shock long enough for Naruto to explain that it was the next form of his 'Bloodline' as he explained it. Zabuza and his brothers raised eyebrows but when they remembered that Ina was just a few feet away and that she didn't know of his demon heritage they nodded their heads in understanding.

"So can we get something to eat now?" He asked as they all straightened up. They nodded and began trecking back to the village.

"So Ina where will you be staying while you're here in Konoha?" Haku asked as he turned his serpentine eyes to hers" Ina smiled. "Oh I'll be staying in Naruto's apartment. While I'm here in Konoha."

"Reeeaaalyyyyy?" Zabuza spoke as he got a very twisted grin on his face!

Ina nodded a bit hesitantly. "Yeah why?"

Gaara spoke up. "That's odd it's not commo-mpfh" Gaara was cut off as Zabuza appeared right behind him and covered his mouth with his hand. "Ohh nothing it's just that I want to tell you that Naruto can be a real pain in the ass sometimes. Just a warning." _'Hehehehe after I'm done trying to make Naruto's life as difficult as possible I'll get started on Gaara and Haku'_

Naruto soon started drooling as the familiar scent of Ramen reached his nose. He started walking over to the Ichiraku like a man possessed. "Raaaaaaaaammmmmmmmmmeeeeeeeeeennnnnnnnnn" He moaned like a zombie as he came closer.

Zabuza once again appeared behind him and hit him on the back of the head with the flat side of his sword HARD sending the young blond to the floor. He then grabbed him by the back of his collar and started to drag him away from the stand. "Were having something else all you ever do is eat that damn broth and I'm sick of it!"

Naruto looked like someone had told him he was going to be castrated. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! LETMEGOLETMEGOLETMEGOLETMEGO! OLD MAN ICHIRAKU PLEASE SAVE MEEEEEEEEE!"

Ina, Gaara and Haku all shook their heads. _'Same old Naruto'_ They all thought with smiles tugging at their lips.

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Meanwhile inside the ramen stand Old man Ichiraku and his daughter Ayame stared as Naruto was being dragged away by the guy with bandages.

"Dad do you think we should help him?" Ayame asked her father.

Old man Ichiraku shook his head. "Nah the boy has to eat more than just ramen. Besides we've made so money off of him I could go into retirement right now and be able to live the rest of my life in luxury.

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Naruto and the rest of the group sat around a table with different foods. Gaara and Ina had sushi, Haku was having dango, Naruto was having some fried rice with peppersteak and Zabuza was having ell rice bowls.

Naruto finally broke the silence. "So what have you guy's been up to?"

Haku shrugged. "Nothing much. I've been training with team seven while Zabuza has found a decent sparring partner with Kakashi."

Zabuza snorted. "Training with team seven my ass You've just been ogling that Sakura girl."

Haku blushed and turned an angry glare on Zabuza "I have not done anything like that. She's just a friend! She asked me to help her for the upcoming Chuunin exams since Sasuke was busy with his Sharingan training and most of the Genjutsu Kakashi-san had left her she had learned rather easily because of her perfect Chakra control.

Naruto decided to join in the fun. "Hmm I bet her Chakra control isn't the only thing you find perfect about her eh Haku?"

Haku's glare darkened and he looked ready to kill. His hand slowly inched to one of his nodaichi.

Naruto decided to change the subject before Haku decided to sharpen his daggers with his bones. "So Gaara where are Kankuro and Temari."

Gaara calmly put in another piece of sushi in his mouth before replying. "Temari is somewhere with the Nara boy and Kankuro…………" He trailed off.

_Flashback_

_Gaara and his sibling calmly walked through the streets of Konoha towards the Hokage tower when suddenly. _

"_Hi Hoodie!" Gaara stopped mid step and twitched in annoyance. He slowly turned and found the smiling form of Tenten. "What do you want?"He asked clearly annoyed at her for calling him that stupid name **AGAIN!**_

_Tenten flushed and started shuffling her feet nervously. Gaara raised a curious eyebrow. This wasn't anything like the normally outspoken girl. The very fact that she DARED to call him something like HOODIE showed that._

"_Ummm, I need your help. Well actually the help of you and one of your siblings."_

_Gaara blinked with confusion. "What kind of help" He asked a little cautiously._

_Tenten smiled at him. "I'm so glad you agreed!" She said happily. _

"_Hey wait a minute I haven't agreed to any-ACK" He cried out as tenten grabbed him and Kankuro by their wrists and started dragging them away. She yelled at Temari over her shoulder. "DON'T WORRY I'LL BRING THEM BACK SOON"_

_Temari blinked a couple of times. "Okay I'll just report our arrival to the Hokage on my own then."_

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_Gaara and Kankuro stood infront of Tenten's house _

"_So let me get this straight? You want my help to train for the next Chuunin exams?"_

_She nodded_

"_Then what's Kankuro here for?"  
_

"_Kankuro is here for this." She said as she opened the front door of her house and two seconds latter a little blob of brown hair flew out towards Gaara at amazing speeds. "BIG SISTER!" It yelled as it slammed into Gaara with such force the sand user was knocked on his back with the little creature on top of him. _

_He blinked a couple of times and slowly lowered his eyes to stare at the little five year old girl that was sitting on his chest. "Your not my big sister." She said looking at Gaara with wide brown eyes._

"_Your powers of observation are amazing" He deadpanned._

"_Huh?" Was her intelligent reply._

_Gaara resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He made his sand wrap around the girl's waist. She giggled "That tickles" Gaara then slowly turned her around in his sand and placed her infront of Tenten._

_\_

"_BIG SISTER!" The little girl cried out delighted as she extended her hands to clasp her arms around Tenten's neck. _

_Tenten smiled. "Oichi you have to stop jumping on people when the door opens"_

_Tenten turned to Kankuro. "I only need you to baby-sit her for today. My parents had to go on a buisness trip the day I got back from the mission in Kiri so I haven't gotten any training done and the Chuunin exams are in like a month and a half. My parents will be arriving tomorrow so I only need you for today."_

_Kankuro looked at her like she was crazy. "There's no chance in the seven hells I'm taking care of any kid. I'm not good with kids."  
_

"_He'll do it" Gaara said emotionlessly._

"_WHAT?"_

"_Do it Kankuro it's only for one day and who know's you might actually enjoy it"_

_Kankuro grumbled but he really didn't want to say no to one of the few things Gaara had ever asked of him. "Fine"_

Tenten smiled. "THANK YOU!"

_She then placed little Oichi on the ground. "Oichi I have to go for a little while okay. I'll be back at night time. This man is going to take care of you until I get back. Okay?"  
_

_The child nodded happily and took Kankuro's hand. "Okay big sister" Tenten smiled_

"_Be good okay?"  
_

_Oichi nodded and Tenten soon left with Gaara._

_Kankuro looked down at the little girl and figured it would be best to keep her entertained. "Okay kid what kind of games do you like to play?"_

_Her smile frightened him. It shook him to his core. It made him want to run away. Far far far away where no one would be able to find him._

_Oichi looked up at him with a bright smile._

_For the remainder of the day Kankuro would know the ultimate form of torture known as **dress-up**_

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_Many hours later Tenten and Gaara returned. Tenten had gone to the living room to turn off a stereo that had been left on. Leaving Gaara alone at the entrance._

"_Gaara your back!" Reached the young sand users ears from his right._

"_Ahh, Kankuro good. Come on we shou- WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO YOU!"_

_He yelled as he turned to face his brother._

_Kankuro looked down at his appearance and then looked at Gaara with a big smile that didn't belong on his painted face. (Not with the usual paint either)_

"_We were playing with Oichi-chan. We likes to play with Oichi-chan Can we come back to play with Oichi-chan again?"_

_Flashback end_

Gaara shook his head to clear the image. "He's in therapy?"

Zabuza cut in. "So Naruto have you and Ina been dating?"

Both of the mentioned teen's blushed and Naruto nearly choked on his bottle of watter.

Zabuza smirked he had his answer. They may have not been exactly dating but something had been going on. And extracting the information would be so sweet and enjoyable.

Ohhh yes he would enjoy it very much.

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Well another chapter is done. I need help writing the romance scenes so if anyone is willing go ahead and volunteer.


	36. Naruto's new mission

Naruto blearily opened his eyes to a strange sound. He stood up and began to get his senses under control so that he could pinpoint the sound.

With a sudden jump he realized it was coming from his bedroom. His heart skipped several beats before he immediately bolted from the living room couch and ran clear across the room to where his bedroom was.

He opened the door and found Ina thrashing around in the bed. Her arms flailing around wildly as if she was trying to fight off some invisible enemy.

He made his way to the bed and grabbed her by her shoulders. "Ina! Ina wake up!" He was using a slightly raised voice but a somewhat gentle one as well. He didn't want to scare her more than what she already was.

Ina's eyes shot open with fear evident in her blue depths. "Na-Naruto?" Naruto smiled softly and nodded. "Yeah Ina it's me." He said as he moved a stray hair from her forehead.

Ina's eye's started to tear up and before Naruto had any clue as to what the hell was going on he found himself in a vice like grip, caused by the aforementioned girls arms around his neck.

He awkwardly wrapped his arms around her waist and whispered soothing nothings in her ear as she buried her face in the crook of his neck. He sat down on the edge of the bed so he could accommodate her form easier. He started running his right hand through her hair while his left ran circles along her back trying to calm her down.

Finally after several minutes her sobs became dry tears and small hiccups. "Are you allright now?" He asked after a few seconds. She nodded silently. He moved to push her back so he could see her face but as he did her grip around him tightened even more.

"Ina?" He asked uncertainly

In response her grip tightened a little more. "Please…I'm sorry to bother you but…please let me stay here a little longer…I…I feel safe here."

Naruto was shocked at her words but he quickly got out of it and held her just a little tighter. His heart lifted and he felt warmth flow through his body as her words once again played through his mind.

After a few more minutes of silence Ina finally spoke. "It was horrible."

"The nightmare?"

She nodded slightly. "I…I saw everyone I've known. Everyone I've ever loved…they were killed. Their blood ran down the floor like rivers. I saw brother, grandpa, all of my friends…you."

Naruto continued rubbing her back. "Shhh, it's okay. It was nothing but a dream."

She stiffened and paused for a moment before she spoke again. "Na-Naruto I'm sorry to bother you again but…could you stay with me tonight."

Naruto's heart leapt to his throat but he quickly gulped it down. _'Okay it's nothing like that…she's just scared…I cant just leave her like this.'_

"**Yeah keep lying to yourself like that boy. You know why you want to stay here tonight!" **

'_FUCK YOU!'_

"**Now now is that anyway to talk to your elders?"**

'_Just shut up and get back in the seal'_

After a few seconds in which Naruto remained silent Ina grew nervous. _'Maybe I shouldn't have asked that.' _

"Are you sure?" Naruto asked, forcing her out of her thoughts.

She nodded against him. "If it's not too much trouble."

"Allright I'll stay."

"Thank you Naruto."

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Meanwhile a bandage wearing joinin with a big sword smirked from a nearby rooftop. "Kai" He whispered before disappearing into the thick mist.

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Several hours later.

Naruto weakly opened his eyes and laid them on the still sleeping form of Ina. He listened to her soft breathing and watched the steady rise and fall of her chest. He couldn't help but think that she looked rather angelic in her sleep. He smiled to himself. _'I like this. Waking up with her next to me. It feels…warm.'_

He absently moved a strand of Ina's black hair back into place. He heard something tapping at his window. He looked up and saw a small bird with a scroll on his leg. He moved as carefully as he could and took the scroll from the birds leg while working to not wake the sleeping girl in his arms.

He opened the scroll and read that he had to see Tsunade as soon as possible. He groaned. He really didn't want to get out from his comfortable position but he didn't want to be punched through a wall for being late so he reluctantly got out of bed to get ready.

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Ina woke and immediately laid eyes on a note that had been placed on the bed. She blinked the sleep out of her eyes and started reading.

'_Good morning. I didn't want to wake you so I left without saying anything. Baa-chan called me to her office for something. I'll probably be back later on today. If you need some help or something look for either Zabuza, Haku or Gaara. If you cant find any of them then look for a guy with silver hair, a mask and a forehead protector covering his left eye. His name is Kakashi he might look like an idiot at first but he's one of the most trustworthy guy's out there. Just tell him I sent you and he'll help you out.._

_Naruto_

_Ps: Feel free to raid the fridge._

She giggled a little at the last comment before deciding to stay in bed a while longer.

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Naruto however was not having a good time. Nooo, he was far from having a good time. He had arrived at Tsunade's office only to find out he had a mission. But that wasn't what had him so down. Nooo a mission he could handle. As long as it involved fighting enemy ninja's, being a guard to an important diplomat, assassinations. Basically any kind of field mission.

But the mission he had received right now was much different from any field operation. And that was the cause of his frustration.

He tore his eye's away from the files in his hand and laid eyes on the Gondaime with his left eyebrow twitching. "Tell me your not serious!"

"Actually I am serious Naruto. That's your new mission. Take it or leave it. If you dump it I'll have you doing D rank missions until you accept."

Naruto's eyebrow started to twitch even more. He threw the file on the desk with a frustrated grunt. "THIS MAKES NO SENSE!" He yelled at her. "You know damn well I'm one of the strongest ninja in the village right now! Why the hell do I have to do something like this!" Tsunade was visibly refraining herself from beating the kid to a bloody pulp at this point.

Nevertheless she answered in a calm collected tone. "Naruto currently sound and Konoha are in a sort of cold war. So we need strong ninja in our forces to aid in the fight and turn the tide in our favor."

Naruto still looked peeved so she continued. "Tell me Naruto going all out how strong are you?"

Naruto looked surprised but he answered quickly. "Well I'm probably as strong or a little stronger than you an Erosennin one on one."

Tsunade nodded. "Exactly. Now tell me, how strong are the Akatsuki members individually."

Naruto's brow raised another quarter of an inch. "About the same."

"Now can you tell me how the Akatsuki members work?"

Naruto slowly had a look of comprehension dawn on his features. Tsunade nodded her head with a smile on her features. "Exactly. They work in pairs. And you can't beat two of them at the same time."

Naruto winced as he recalled his encounter with Itachi and Kisame. Sure he had managed to land some hits but he could guess that between the two of them they had barely used any chakra. The only major technique that they had used was Itachi's Amateratsu. While he had been nearly killed by chakra depletion. If Ina hadn't been there to pull his ass out of the fire he'd most likely be dead right now.

Tsunade continued speaking. "Jiraiya wont be in the village for a while since he's gathering intelligence on Oto's activities and you cant leave the village without risk of Akatsuki attacking you. A risk I'm not willing to take so this is the only job I'll let you take."

Naruto growled before snatching the file off her desk and stalked out the door.

Tsunade smiled and yelled after his retreating back. "I'm sure you'll make a great Jounin Sensei!"

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Naruto sat atop the head of the fourth Hokage reading through the files of the newly graduated gennin.

The team was peculiar to say the least. It consisted of a female Inuzuka named Taka Kiba's younger cousin it seemed. Another kid named Yoshinari who's family was proficient with lightning jutsu's and one Hyuuga Hanabi, Hinata's little sister.

It saddened him somewhat to learn that the council had decided to drop the regular academy graduation age of twelve down to ten. It seemed with the war with Oto they have become desperate for more shinobi even if they are just kids. The excuse always was the same. They said it was an honor to put one's life on the line for the village and an even greater honor to die protecting it.

Funny, they never seem to do any of the dying.

Taka it seemed was the same as most Inuzuka. She scored excellent in the physical aspects but horribly in the written exams, causing her to end up with the famous title of dead last. Yoshinari was a fairly average student except that he seemed to have a slightly larger than normal chakra capacity. It wasn't surprising with his family history.

And last was Hanabi. She had graduated even earlier than her piers. She was nine years old and had taken the class title of rookie of the year. Hopefully she won't be as arrogant and superior as the last two rookies were before he set them straight. But he knew that was far too much to hope for. Graduating early, being a main branch Hyuuga member and to top it all off she's the rookie of the year. He'd be surprised if she didn't expect him to bow every time she spoke.

He sighed again. He stood and started to walk to the one place he knew he could get more information on the kids.

The academy.

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Umino Iruka was currently reviewing the remaining academy test results quietly in his classroom.

"Hey Iruka!"

Said chuunin looked up from his work and found Naruto standing at the doorway.

"Hello Naruto what brings you here."

Naruto grumpily threw the files on his desk. Iruka's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. "YOU'RE A JOUNIN SENSEI?" The man yelled at the top of his lungs.

Naruto grabbed a chair and pulled it to the other side of his desk and sat down. "Not exactly by choice." He grumbled. "Tell me about the brats. I want to know what I have to work with."

Iruka took a moment to collect himself before he grabbed the file on the table and started skimming through it.

"Well Inuzuka Taka is pretty much the same as Kiba was in the academy when he was here. She scores average or above average in the physical exams but she has almost no ability for the written exam. Yoshinari is a pretty average student so theres not much to say there other than the fact that he can probably last a little longer in a fight than most students. Hanabi is in a league all in her own. She's easily the best student we've produced in a while. In a few months or at most a few years I suspect she might give her cousin Neji and Sasuke a run for their money."

"I read all that in the report. What I want is their personalities and such."

Iruka 'hmmed' for a moment before replying. "Taka is once again an average Inuzuka. Gruff, strait to the point, no nonsense kind of personality. She can be a bit overconfident and fairly outspoken but she's usually well behaved unless you piss her off. You can usually do that by insulting her dog or her family. Yoshinari is a little hyperactive at times but that's normal for kids their age. Hanabi well……she's a Hyuuga."

Naruto sighed. He knew exactly what that meant. She was arrogant, prideful, hardheaded, foolhardy and thinks she deserves everything. Joy. It seemed the only exception to that rule was Hinata.

He sighed and stood up. "Thanks Iruka."

The chuunin nodded and Naruto walked out the door.

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Naruto arrived at his house and found Ina sitting at the table already eating. She smiled before standing up and giving him a small peck on his cheek. "Welcome home."

Naruto was momentarily stunned but he quickly recovered before wrapping his left arm around her waist. "Thanks. But what was the kiss for?" He asked with a little mischievous glint in his eyes. Ina saw the look and felt tempted to tease him but she quickly dropped that thought out of her mind and decided to answer truthfully. "That was to say thanks for helping me last night."

Naruto's smile softened a little bit more. "You don't have to thank me. I was happy to help."

Ina leaned into his shoulder. "Yeah I know. But I felt like it."

Naruto's smile widened a little more. "Thanks again. So what did you cook?"

"I had to go out and buy food. You have nothing but ramen here." She said as she gave a mock angry glare. Naruto scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

"Never had to eat much else really."

Ina shook her head somberly before returning to the dinner table. "Your food is in the fridge." Naruto nodded and happily made his way to the fridge.

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After lunch Ina had practically dragged Naruto to the market to get food and most importantly extra clothing for her. While they were there they ran into Ino, Chouji and Shikamaru. After a few quick introductions they told him that team seven was on a mission and wouldn't be back for a few weeks.

When Ino found out that Naruto was shopping with Ina she squealed in delight and offered to help the other female with her shopping. The male senses of all three boy's worked on overdrive attempting to warn the boy's of the impending torture that was a female shopping spree but to no avail. Ino grabbed Chouji and Shikamaru and dragged them while Ina had grabbed Naruto.

Once they entered the shop the girls went crazy and Naruto was suddenly very grateful for the fact that his stay in Kumo was considered an ongoing A class mission and he had received pay accordingly.

The girls had gone from shopping for themselves to shopping for the boys as well. In the end Chouji had to use his clan jutsu's to grow his arms to ridiculous proportions to hold his share of the stuff while Shikamaru's head was barely visible behind his stack and Naruto had summoned eight shadow clones to help him out.

Ina and Ino for some reason didn't have anything in their arms.

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After they had arrived at the house Naruto just dropped the contents on the floor of the bedroom and laid his eyes on the magnificent piece of furniture known as a bed. "Salvation!" He cried before dropping himself ontop of said bed. He couldn't believe how tired he was. He never got tired but these females were like hellspawns of stamina when it came to shopping.

Ina huffed and crossed her arms angrily. "Oh, please you guy's hardly let me see anything."

Naruto's eyes remained shut but on the inside his head was spinning. _'Hardly let you see anything? WE WERE THERE FOR FIVE HOURS!'_ Before he could say anything he felt himself leave the conscious world. Ina sat down on the bed and started shaking him lightly. "Hey…come on Naruto." As she got no response she got a little angry but she smirked a little at the next thought. "If you don't wake up right now I start calling you fluffy in public places."

She expected that to wake him up but he merely mumbled something before burying himself deeper into the mattress. Ina's eyebrow twitched. She leaned in a little closer and as she did Naruto's arm snaked around her and pulled her in. At first she tried to resist but after a while she stopped and leaned into the embrace. She let the soft rhythm of his heart beat lull her into a dreamless sleep.

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Unknown to anyone a certain red furred fox smirked behind the bars of his cage.

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Well here's this chapter I'm sorry if it's crap but fluffyness and romance aren't really my strong suit. Fights, wars, dramatic plot developments I can do but fluffyness and romance is like separating haystacks with tweezers to me. Very difficult.


	37. The Gennin team

Here's another chapter I hope you all like it.

I would like to thank Demonic dragon knight for his suggestions concerning this chapter.

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Ina slowly opened her eyes as the rays of sunlight filtered through the window. She groaned sadly, wanting to return to her sleep but after several seconds she knew it wasn't going to happen. As she tried to get up she felt pressure on her waist. She looked down and found a clawed hand firmly wrapped around her waist.

Her mind blanked out for a moment before it recalled the events of the previous night. She furiously beat down a blush that was threatening to form on her cheeks. She turned her head slightly and came face to face with the still sleeping blond. She giggled a little and ran a hand through his hair.

Naruto stirred at the contact and opened his eyes to find a smiling Ina. He blinked a couple of times before smiling back. "Good morning" He said.

Ina's smile widened a bit as she spoke. "Good morning to you too but…I think your going to be late." Naruto blinked a few more times before he turned his head slightly to look at the wall clock at the top of his bed. It read 11:42 He blinked some more before his eyes went wide and he shot out of the bed. "OH CRAP I'M GONNA BE LATE!"

Ina watched in amusement as Naruto ran around the house at breakneck speed. He somehow managed to make instant ramen, took a shower, got dressed and ate the instant ramen all in the span of five minutes.

He ran back into the room and grabbed his forehead protector. Which was resting on a night table next to the bed. "I'll be back later." Before Ina could say anything Naruto gave her a quick peck on the lips and ran out of the room. Leaving a very red young girl.

Ina touched her lips with the blush still staining her cheeks. A faint smile crossed her features.

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Naruto however reached the door and suddenly realized what he did. _'Oh man she's gonna be pissed at me' _Rather than face an angry Ina and get punched halfway across town he decided to leave for now, let her cool down and then apologize after she was fairly calm.

With that plan in mind he opened his door and ran to the academy. To most he appeared as a yellow and black blur.

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Naruto blasted through the academy doors, nearly removing them from it's hinges. He made his way to Iruka's class room where he found a group of Jounin. He immediately recognized one as Genma. The referee in the Chuunin exam.

Genma saw him and nodded in acknowledgement. Naruto returned the gesture and they waited for Iruka to finish his speech.

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Not five minutes later they heard the end of the speech and the Jounins began filing into the room.

Iruka started calling out the teams. "Team one" Three students stood Iruka called the name of their jounin sensei. The Jounin motioned for the three to follow. The team wordlessly walked out.

Naruto waited for his team to finally be called.

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"Team six" A Hyuuga girl, a young girl with a dog in her arms and a boy with black hair that barely reached his shoulders. _'Looks like these are mine.'_

The Inuzuka had long brown hair and two markings on her cheeks. Her dog was black with a white spot on his forehead. She was dressed in a loose fitting jacket that was similar to Kiba's jacket except hers didn't have a hood and the color was red. Her pants were black and had enough pockets to hide a small arsenal. She wore the normal ninja sandals but instead of being blue they were black as well.

The boy was wearing a dark blue shirt with the design of white lightning bolts. He was wearing a matching white forehead protector that Naruto assumed he modified himself. His pants were simple dark blue

"Your Jounin sensei is Uzumaki Naruto."

Naruto waved. "Meet me on the roof." He said lazily before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

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Naruto waited on the roof pondering how he was going to do this. He decided to take the basic concept that Kakashi used and take it from there hopefully everything would work out.

He was torn from his thoughts as he saw the door to the roof open and his three students walk out. They walked towards him each wearing different expressions. The Inuzuka, Taka, appeared to be trying to judge his strength while Yoshinari was looking at him in a strange mix of mild curiosity with laziness. And the Hyuuga seemed to think of him as…beneath her. If the expression on her face was any indication.

"Sit" He motioned to the floor infront of him. The gennins all sat down and stared at Naruto making him slightly uncomfortable. He didn't show it on the outside and merely continued. "Well now that we're all here, how about some introductions? You know? Your likes, dislikes, hobbies and dreams for the future"

He pointed at Yoshinari. "You go first."

Yoshinri blushed in embarrassment and scratched the back of his head a bit sheepishly. "My name's Tatsuoki Yoshinari. I like ummm, training and spending time with my family. I don't like stupid people…my hobbies are reading about lightning jutsu's and my dream is to become the best lightning jutsu master in Konoha."

Naruto heard Hanabi say 'as if a weakling like you can ever do that' It was so quiet even he had to struggle to hear it. He narrowed his eyes a little, though it went unnoticed by any of the gennin. _'Hyuuga and their fucking arrogance.'_

He pointed at Taka. "Allright now you and your partner." He said with a slight smile.

Taka was surprised that he had called her dog partner instead of mutt or puppy. Most people always said that. She smiled back at Naruto. She decided that she liked him so far. "My name's Inuzuka Taka and this is my friend Koroku. I like practicing the Inuzuka clan techniques with her. I dislike people that make fun of her or my family. My dream is to become the best fighter of the Inuzuka clan."

Naruto nodded and then turned to Hanabi. "Now you Hyuuga."

Hanabi turned to him. "My name is Hyuuga Hanabi. I like training. I dislike weak people. I don't have any hobbies. And I don't have a dream at the moment."

Naruto nodded. "Good. I want all of you to meet me at training ground on the east side of konoha tomorrow at seven for your gennin test."

Taka rose her hand.

"Yes Taka?" Naruto said with a smile.

"What do you mean? Didn't we already take the gennin test?"

"You did." Naruto admitted. "But that test was just to see if you were even half worthy of taking the real gennin test. Mine." He said the last part with a very sadistic smile on his face. Showing off his sharp canines. His gold eyes only adding to the animalistic intimidation.

Despite the gennins best efforts they actually gave a small shudder.

Naruto suddenly dropped the intimidating smile, replacing it with a normal one. "Oh yea, none of you might want to eat breakfast tomorrow unless you want to throw it up." The cheerful tone and equally cheerful smile he had plastered on his face made everyone sweatdrop.

"Any other questions?"

Yoshinari raised his hand.

"Yes?"

"Don't take this the wrong way or anything but aren't you a little young to be a jounin compared to the others that I saw in the class?"

Naruto nodded and gave a nervous chuckle _'If you only knew how young I was.' _"I am a little younger than most jounin but age isn't always a factor in strength."

The gennin seemed to but his answer as they nodded in acknowledgement.

Naruto smiled. "Anything else ?" As the gennin stayed silent he spoke again. "Okay, remember. All of you are to meet me on east training ground at seven. Don't eat."

He then vanished in a puff of smoke.

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Moments later Naruto could be seen walking towards the Sarutobi compound. He approached the front door and knocked. Moments later the door opened revealing Asuma with the cigarette firmly placed in his mouth.

Asuma looked surprised as he saw a blond haird guy that looked like the yondaime standing at his front door. "Hey Asuma-sensei is the old man around?"

Asuma saw the whisker marks and immediately recognized him as Naruto. Though he made sure that there were no genjutsu in the area several times. "Ohh Naruto. Yeah he's in the back."

With that Asuma stepped to the side allowing Naruto in. He motioned for Naruto to follow and began to lead him through the large house.

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Moments later they walked into the back yard where Naruto could see old man Sarutobi sitting down on the ground Indian stile, reading a book. As he walked over Sarutobi looked up and smiled fondly at Naruto.

"Hey old man. Still full of energy I see." He greeted as he sat down across from him.

"Hello to you as well Naruto. I am glad to see that you have returned safely from Kumo."

"Thanks old man. But listen I need your help."

"Ohh?" The old man said mildly surprised. "What help would that be?"

"Did you ever see how Kakashi conducted a gennin test?"

Sarutobi chuckled before replying. "I was the one who came up with the bell test. Jiraiya used it later on, followed by Jiraiya and then Arashi used it on Kakashi. We all did it a bit differently from eachother but the concept is the same."

Ohh, that's good because Tsunade-baachan just gave me a team and I wanted to get some pointers on how to do the test properly since I kinda messed up Kakashi's test when he did it on us. I would have gone to him but he's out on a mission right now."

"Ahh yes I heard of your promotion to elite Jounin. Congratulations on that note. Still I did not expect for Tsunade to grant you a team so soon."

"She wants me to remain in the village since Akatsuki's still after me and Jiraiya is too busy to help me out."

"Ahh, I see. Very well, what would you like to know?"

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Meanwhile

In the Hyuuga compound Hanabi walked into Hiashi's study.

She bowed to her father.

Hiashi looked up from the scroll in his hands and laid eyes on his daughter. "Ahh, Hanabi. Good. Tell me who was appointed as your sensei." He said as he grabbed a drink from the table.

"Someone named Uzumaki Naruto father." She said as she stood from her bow.

Hiashi paused ever so slightly in his movements before resuming. "Thank you Hanabi. You may leave." Hanabi bowed again before walking away.

Hiashi heard the door slide shut before a smile crossed his features. _'Hmm, this will prove interesting. My godson is the sensei to my daughter. Perhaps this is the opportunity I have been waiting for.'_

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In the Inuzuka residence. Taka was playing with Koroku in the rather large private garden on the grounds when Inuzuka Tsume (Kiba's mom and the head of the clan) and Inuzuka Kitcho (Taka's mom, Tsume's sister, OC character) walked out of the house.

"Taka!" Kitcho called out catching the girls attention. She started running to the two adults with a big smile on her face. "Hi Kasan! Hi aunty Tsume! (I don't know how to say aunt or uncle in Japanese)

Kitcho bent down and hugged her daughter. "Hi honey. Did you meet your jounin sensei today?" She asked with a warm smile as she stood.

Taka nodded happily. "Yup! He was really nice to Koroku too. But he said that tomorrow he was going to give us our real gennin test."

Kitcho smiled happily and asked. "Well, what's his name? I know a couple of the Jounin senseis this year. Maybe I know yours."

"His name is Uzumaki Naruto." Taka said as she happily played with her dog Koroku completely missing the look of shock on Tsume's face and the one of increasing anger on Kitcho's."

"WHA-MPH!" Kitcho began but was cut off as Tsume clamped her hand over her mouth.

"Taka dear you can go play some more now. I have to talk to your Kasan for a minute here."

"Ummm, okay." She said as she got up and started walking back to where she was playing before. Well out of earshot from the two adults.

With a strong jerk Kicho released herself from Tsume's grasp with an angry snarl on her face. "How dare the Hokage allow that…that…THING to get close to my daughter!"

Tsume slowly shook her head. "Calm yourself Kicho. You are acting irrationally. Now I cannot say that I know the boy personally but we should give him a chance. We Inuzuka have always prided ourselves in raising our children and our animals with equal care and affection. Why can we not at the very least show common human decency to one victim of circumstance?"

Kitcho snarled angrily. "Because our animals aren't monsters! How could you possibly think of trusting him? Cant you see that he's nothing but a monster just waiting for a chance to strike."

Tsume shook her head sadly. "Kitcho look at your daughter."

The woman was confused but complied all the same.

"Now Kicho I want you to tell me. Do you love her?"

"Yes."

"Would you love her no matter what she did wrong or no matter what mistakes she made?"

"Of course."

"And what if the fourth would have used her instead of him?"

Kitcho paused for a moment as the weight of her words sunk in.

"I want you to think about that Kicho. Because it could have easily been her if Kyuubi would have just attacked two years later. Would you have called her monster as well?"

With that Tsume walked away, leaving a very confused Inuzuka to think.

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A similar scene was currently taking place in Yoshinari's house

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Naruto was walking down the street with a big bright sadistic smile on his face. Making all those that saw him edge away from the blond Jinchuriki.

Why was he smiling in such a way one might wonder. Well he had heard all of Sarutobi's tales of the different way's and stiles the bell tests were formed. Sarutobi taunted his students and compared one students failures to another students successes in order to goad them into fighting better.

Jiraiya used his goofy personality and somewhat sadistic/perverted nature to piss off his students to the point where they couldn't see straight.

Arashi used his smiles and cheerfull demeanor so that his student would underestimate him and Kakashi used the students personalities and ambitions against them.

Somewhere within the conversation Naruto came up with his own test and the perfect way to carry it out. Ohhhhhh yessssss he was going to enjoy giving these gennin their test. If Kakashi's test had a 33 chance of passing his was going to be damn near impossible.

He unconsciously let out an evil bone chilling laugh as he thought of the way those kids were going to fail. His test was probably going to be even better at making sure the gennin were ready to become ninja than the original bell test.

The sadistic gleam in his eyes returned full force.

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He slowly entered the house and found Ina once again sitting at the table with a book in hand. She smiled up at him.

He smiled back _'Good maybe she forgot about the kiss and wont throw me through a wall.'_

She slowly stood and started walking towards him. "Hey Naruto do you remember what you did this morning?" She asked with a sickeningly sweet smile. Naruto inwardly cringed but managed to answer. "Yeah."

Ina's eyes seemed to shone for a moment with an intensity Naruto had never witnessed before. Before he could come any closer to her, Ina moved like lightning, pressing her full lips against his with intense passion. Naruto was stunned as his eyes went wide. But after a few seconds returned the kiss with ardor, his mind confused by the new sensations spreading through his body. Her lips felt so good and soft, unlike anything he had ever expected.

Naruto's strong arms snaked around her slim waist when he suddenly pulled her roughly against him. Ina moaned through the kiss as their bodies came into contact, feeling every muscle of his muscular body pressed firmly against hers.

Naruto went wild with desire. He could now feel every curve of her sinuous body pressed against his, he could feel the shape of her pressed against him through the fabric of their clothes.

Finally they kiss broke but not their embrace. Both out of breath, seconds passed in silence as both ninjas were left panting. Ina smiled.

"That's how you give a real kiss." She started but was immediately silenced as Naruto's lips crashed into hers. She froze for a brief moment when she felt Naruto lick her lower lip. She slowly opened her mouth and let his tongue slip in.

The kiss continued for several seconds before both of them moved back gasping for air.

Naruto pulled her into his chest and inhaled her scent. It was a strange mix of watter lilies and cherry blosoms.

Ina leaned into the embrace and returned it with her own.

Their were a few minutes of comfortable silence as both the teens enjoyed the warmth the other provided.

The silence was broken as Naruto whispered. "I love you."

Ina was a little surprised but as warmth spread through her heart she realized.

"I love you too."

The two remained in te same position for a while. Both silently vowing that if anyone knocked on the door they would meet a very painful end.

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Meanwhile In Kumo a certain old man couldn't stop smiling for a reason he could not explain.

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Well. Sorry if the relationship was a bit rushed but Naruto and Ina's relationship does not have as much time as Gaa/Ten and Haku/Saku's relationship does for reasons that I will not explain lest I ruin the plot of the story.

On that note for those of you that want to see Haku/Saku, Sasu/Kin and Gaara/Ten don't worry it'll come in the next chap or the one after that.


	38. The gennin test

Well here's another chapter I hope you guy's enjoy it.

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It had started out as a normal morning in the Hyuuga residence for young Hanabi. She was woken by a branch member to get cleaned up, dressed, finish her morning exercises and would have had breakfast if she hadn't remembered her supposed sensei telling them not to eat.

She noted that despite telling her father of this he continually offered her food. She refused of course but her father would usually not act so concerned about her or Hinata's eating habits. She found it odd but decided not to pry, her father was probably going through his midlife crisis or something like that. So she let it drop and merely had a small cup of green tea to get some kind of taste in her mouth.

Nothing much had occurred during breakfast, it had gone as normal within the residence (Meaning that it was so quiet one could hear a pin drop two rooms over) So when the affair was finally done she gave a polite bow and walked out to head to the training grounds.

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Now when Hanabi reached the training ground she noticed with some apprehension that she was the first one there. She expected her sensei to be at least a little earlier than his students. But she merely shrugged and sat down to wait and meditate.

Not ten minutes latter a sleepy Yoshinari walked into the field. He looked like he was dead on his feet. He stopped in the middle of the clearing and looked around. He turned to Hanabi "Sensei isn't here yet?" He asked sleepily.

Hanabi shook her head.

Yoshinari raised his hands in the air. "Yippeeee" He tried to yell as he yawned and promptly fell right on his back and entered the third level of sleep within 2.3 seconds. Hanabi shook her head and muttered something about weak and stupid teammates before continuing her meditation.

Taka had followed soon after and when she saw both her teammates were waiting she walked to a nearby tree and fell asleep as well. _'Well at least she has more self control than him' _Hanabi shook her head somberly.

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Meanwhile a certain blond was currently sitting down on the table with a steaming cup of instant ramen that he was enjoying thoroughly. He paused and looked up to the ceiling. _'Hmmmm, I remember I had something to do today. But what was it?'_

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Hanabi's left eyebrow slowly twitched as she heard yelling at the edge of her senses of her meditation. The world slowly came back into focus as she opened her eyes and her ears tuned the sounds so she could hear them properly.

"WHATTHEHELLISWRONGWITHYOUWE'VEBEENWAITINGHEREFORFIVEHOURSYOUBASTARDISHOULDKILLYOUGODDAMNITFIVEHOURSFIVEFUCKINGHOURSSONOFABITCHNOWYOUBETTERHAVEAGOODEXPLANATIONFORTHISSHIT!"

Hanabi figured that all that incomprehensible babble that was spouted away had come from Yoshinari due to his tense stance and the fact that he looked ready to kill a certain blond along with Taka and Koroku who looked pissed as hell.

Hanabi wondered why they were so angry but she then noticed that the sun was shining right above her head indicating it was around noon…but they had shown up at the training grounds at six……but then that meant that

THEY HAD BEEN WAITING FOR SIX HOURS!

Naruto looked up at the third major spike in killing intent. He laid his amber eyes on the young Hyuuga sitting just a few feet away with the veins of the Byakugan twitching indicating that she was really pissed off.

So what did the blond do to appease his hopeful students.

"Why are you guy's here so early?"

Now if you thought his students were angry before Naruto was wondering just how many more seconds of self control they had left before they attacked him.

He grinned before pulling out an alarm clock. "Now…I assume none of you ate breakfast this morning." His grin widened as he heard four (don't forget about Taka's dog) stomachs grumble.

Naruto took out two bells from his pocket. "Well now. Here's your test." At three curious glances he continued. "You merely have to take these bells from me…if you don't get them you fail."

'_What does he mean? There are only two bells there and three of us so one will automatically fail.' _Hanabi thought as she narrowed her eyes.

As if sensing the unasked question Naruto spoke. "That's right kids. One of you will undoubtedly fail this test. Quite frankly I don't care if I end up with two of you one of you or if all of you fail."

He leveled each of them with a harsh cold glare. "You have two hours."

With that statement darkness consumed him and he vanished.

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Naruto wordlessly stood in the middle of the same clearing that Kakashi had stood in when he took the gennin test.

He could sense the three gennin hiding in the nearby woods. He grinned to himself as he heard the tell tale whizzing sound of shuriken approaching. He turned around and watched as three of the black projectiles headed right for him. He cally stepped to the side and watched as Yoshinari came charging at him with two Kunai in hand.

He put a hand in his pouch making the gennin hesitate as he thought Naruto was going to take out a weapon. But what the blond brought out nearly made him face fault.

In Naruto's hand was a box of……(enter drum roll please)

Pocky.

Naruto smiled as he took out one of the crunchy sticks and began munching on it with over exaggerated movements and moans of pleasure. "These things are so good." He looked at Yoshinari. "Oh yeah that's right. You haven't eaten anything at all today have you?"

He dangled the box of pocky in his hand. "Want one?"

Yoshinri's gut rumbled loudly and he practically lunged for the pocky.

With a quick sidestep Naruto moved out of the way and let Yoshinari crash two feet behind him. "Sorrrrryyyyyy. The pocky's all mine."

"DAMN YOU!" Yoshinari yelled as he lunged at Naruto again. Only to have the blond faze out of existence.

Yoshinari looked around wildly for the blond but froze as he heard a clapping sound right behind him. He slowly turned and paled as he saw Naruto crouched behind him with his hands in a tiger seal. _'Oh no he's going to kill me.'_

Similar thoughts were running through the minds of both the other students. With a jump Taka started running towards them. She may not have known Yoshinari very well but she wasn't just going to sit around and watch him die.

Hanabi however remained where she was hidden. Unwilling to give away her position for a weakling that did not deserve to be a shinobi

Naruto's predatory eyes glinted dangerously in the sunlight. He had to hold back a smirk and a scowl as he sensed the movements of his two other teammates.

"KONOHA'S SUPREME TAIJUTSU TECHNIQUE."

A similar situation accured as when he did the technique to Kisame when Jiraiya and he went to look for Tsunade .

The birds stopped chirping the rivers stopped flowing and a gust of wind moved through the clearing as time seemed to stop.

And suddenly start again.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH"

Naruto watched in utter amusement as the gennin flew away and landed in the nearby lake.

Meanwhile Taka was shocked but that shock soon turned into anger and that anger turned into amusement. She was currently laughing her ass off on the forest flor as tears leaked from the corners of her eyes.

Hanabi blinked for several moments. _'Our sensei………is………a complete………and total………idiot.'_

Naruto happily took another stick of pocky and began munching.

He swiftly made a shadow clone and left it there to deal with Yoshinari while he went off to deal with the other two.

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Taka watched as Yoshinari emerged from the lake and began spouting off enough curses to make a sailor cringe and then attack liken a wild animal.

"He's doing well." She heard behind her and spun around to see the smiling form of Naruto happily dangling a piece of pocky infront of her nose. "Want it?" She growled and lunged at her sensei with a **Tsuuga**.

Naruto leaped to the side and watched as she tore down two trees. After she had regained her balance she turned to him and threw a soldier pill to Korouku.

The dog ate the pill and his black fur turned a dark shade of purple. He then noticed her make some handseals and form the human beast mimicry technique that he saw Kiba use in the chuunin exams. Her hair became wilder and her features more feral. With a pop and a cloud of smoke Korouku was now an exact replica of Taka.

At this time Naruto was forced to jump and dodge all of the Tsuuga attacks that Taka and Korouku threw at him. _'Hmmm not bad but she still has to work on her accuracy she's no where near Kiba's level right now.'_

After a few more jumps, evasions and splintered trees Naruto rushed to the yound Inuzuka girl and delivered a hard punch to her gut. Knocking the wind right out of her. With a blur of movement he reappeared behind the girl and gave a sharp chop to the back of her neck.

He turned around and delivered a bone crushing kick to the charging Korkouku's head knocking him out and dispelling his jutsu.

'_Now for the last one.'_

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Naruto leapt down into the clearing where the young Hyuuga prodigy waited. He had sensed her retreat shortly after he had started fighting Taka.

He leapt into the clearing and immediately locked eyes on the pale one's of Hanabi. Cold and emotionless lavender bore into molten amber.

'_So young yet so cold. If this is what the Hyuuga do to their children then I am surprised it has not turned into another Uchiha genocide.'_

"**Indeed but still you should remember that not all things must be taken at face value, I sense something else from this Hyuuga."  
**

'_Mind sharing what that is.'_

Silence

'_Cryptic bastard'_

"Well now, mind telling me why you chose to retreat rather than help your friends." He asked as he crossed his arms and firmly kept his eyes locked on those of the young Hyuuga.

"They aren't my friends. We of the Hyuuga clan are superior to all I wont waste my time by helping weaklings that fate has decreed unworthy of becoming ninja.

'_Ohh brother not more of this fate crap. I thought I only had to pull that stick out of Neji's ass damnit.'_

"So if you fail to get a bell then that means that you are not worthy of beeing a shinobi. There's a reason why I have a jounin rank you know. I'm not going to let you have it easily."

Hanabi slid into the juuken fighting stance. "I wont lose."

With that declaration Hanabi charged at the blond jounin. Naruto was impressed by her speed and the significantly less amount of flaws her style had compared to other Hyuuga her age or even older.

He continued to dodge her attacks without trying to block or attack in retaliation. He wanted to bring her down a peg or two. And her seeing that he was merely toying with her would definitely do that.

And it was working. After several failed attempts Hanabi was becoming increasingly agitated but shit hit the fan when Naruto once again took out the damn pocky and started happily munching away while dodging the white clad gennin.

She visibly restrained herself from crying out in rage as she continued to try and hit the blond.

"Awwwww, I'm out of pocky already." Naruto whined in a child like manner as he held the box of pocky infront of him with a pout.

Hanabi was now beyond pissed she was about to attack him when the sound of an alarm reached her ears. _'I…I…failed?'_

With a predatory smirk Naruto vanished and Hanabi's world faded into darkness.

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Naruto watched with amusement as the three gennins began stirring.

When they all finally woke up and looked around they noticed something. Yoshinari decided to speak. "WHAT THE HELL ARE WE DOING TIED UP?"

"Ohhhh, did I forget to mention that if you didn't get a bell you were going to be tied up and watch as I eat my lunch."

Three stomachs growled loudly in protest. Naruto smiled and happily took out a bento box with an instant ramen cup on the side and began eating away.

Two minute's later.

"YOU EVIL BASTARD! I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU FOR THIS JUST WAIT TILL I GET MY HANDS ON YOU!" Yoshinari wailed and struggled against his bonds while Taka tried to bite her way out with her elongated canines with Korouku trying to help her.

Naruto noticed this and took out a doggy treat. "Korouku (whistle) here boy."

The dog immediately remembered that he hadn't eaten anything since last night and ran up to Naruto happily wagging its tail. "Now if you promise to behave I'll give you lot's more food." The dog nodded and Naruto took out another bento box and put it infront of the dog who began eating away with his tail wagging back and forth.

"KOROUKU YOU TRAITOR!" Taka screeched at the top of her lungs as her K-9 companion happily ate away.

Hanabi didn't say anything as the same thought tore through her mind. _'How could I have failed? I am a Hyuuga I am not supposed to fail. I CANNOT fail.'_

Naruto finished his meal with a contented sigh. "Now then I'm sure your all wondering why you all fail."

"What do you mean? We didn't get the bells so we failed." Hanabi said as she finally looked up to meet his gaze.

"Not exactly this test was supposed to test your teamwork. One of you must be willing to sacrifice himself or herself for the good of the whole group. If you place yourself or self gain before that of your teammates you will in turn endanger the whole team and risk the success of the mission."

"But we only had two bells one of us would have had to go back to the academy." Yoshinari said still not grasping the concept.

"No Yoshinari I only said that so that you would all attack me without thinking about your teammates and only about yourselves since none of you wanted to become academy students again."

"So we never had to get a bell to pass?"

"Nope. You just had to show teamwork or a willingness to put the team before yourself."

"So what happens now?" Taka asked.

"Well by all rights and purposes I should fail all of you. Yoshinari is far to impatient while you Taka rely far to much on your family jutsu's but that's to be expected since you have had no other kind of training besides your families and the academies. And as for you Hanabi I am very angry with you."

Hanabi's head shot up in surprise at that statement.

"When I stood behind Yoshinari with what appeared to be a tiger seal (one could swear they saw Yoshinari's eyes flash red) Taka moved to try to stop me while you remained in your position. You would have let him die just for that I should fail you."

Hanabi looked away in anger.

"But because of Taka's willingness to fight me, a jounin, just to help him I wont. I'm going to give you guy's one more chance."

With a flick of his wrist two Kunai cut the ropes holding Yoshinari and Taka. Naruto tossed two bento boxes at them. "Now you two will be allowed to eat to regain your strength but because of Hanabi's selfishness she is not allowed to eat."

The two gennins took the boxes and looked sadly at Hanabi who's eyes held extreme fury.

Naruto's sharp gazed looked over all of them. "If I catch Hanabi eating all of you fail. I make the rules…you follow them. Got it?"

Without waiting for an answer Naruto once again vanished in a puff of smoke.

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Yoshinari and Taka ate in what seemed like guilty silence. After several minutes Yoshinari gave a frustrated sigh as he stood up and walked over to Hanabi and started cutting off her bonds.

"What are you doing?" She nearly yelled at him as she scanned the area with her Byakuugan. "I cant eat with you like this. It make's me feel bad that I'm eating while you are starving and watching us eat."

Hanabi was shocked. Didn't he feel bitter about her not even moving to try to help him when he was in trouble?

"Here" Hanabi turned and found Taka holding out the remains of her lunch for her to eat.

"But why?"

Taka snorted. "What are you an idiot? You heard our sensei we have to take care of our teammate so we have to look out for each other. Now take the damn thing." She practically shoved the bento box in Hanabi's hands as she said the last part.

Hanabi looked between her two teammates as she saw no objection with Yoshinari. She took the chopsticks and grabbed some rice.

**BOOM**

With a massive explosion Naruto emerged infront of them with an angry snarl on his features. **"YOU!"**

The three gennins (and dog) jumped three feet in the air as the dog whimpered Yoshinari backed away, Taka tensed and Hanabi activated her byakuugan.

"Pass" Naruto said in a cheerful voice.

"What?" Taka asked after several seconds of silence.

"You all pass. If you two wouldn't have given her any food then that meant that you didn't really care about your teammates and I would have failed you."

"So we really pass?" Yoshinari asked in excitement.

"Yup"

Taka and Yoshinari cheered and jumped around loudly while Hanabi allowed a small smirk to form on her lips.

"Just remember this. Those who disobey orders are trash but those who don't care about their comrades are worse than trash."

The three gennins nodded at him and continued celebrating completely missing the flash of evil across Naruto's eyes.

'_Now it's time for the real test'_

He watched as figure in the shadows of the forest unhooked his Zanbatou from his back and another took out his daggers.

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Well here's another chap I hope I can get the next chapter up soon but like with a twist of fate I'm getting a case of writers block for this story which I'm hoping will pass soon.


	39. Hiashi's invitation

Well here's another chapter hope you guy's like it.

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Naruto smiled down at the three gennin hopefuls.

"Well that's all for today. All of you go home and get some rest, meet back here tomorrow morning for your first mission and training. Got it?"

All three of them nodded and Naruto smiled. "Good."

And with that said Naruto vanished in a puff of smoke.

For a moment all three genins stayed still, grasping the concept that they were now ninja. Then Yoshinari stood and stretched. "Well I guess I'll see you guy's tomorrow.

Taka and Hanabi nodded before they too stood up and began walking away. Before they managed to make it a couple of steps however a thick mist rolled into the area.

"Stop!" Hanabi called to her two teammates. She knew that no natural mist would appear so suddenly and be this thick.

Both of the other gennins also sensed something wrong and stopped looking around into the mist in order to detect something.

Hanabi instantly activated her byakugan. And scanned the area.

An eerie silence filled the clearing for several moments.

Hanabi felt her blood run cold as she heard a voice coming from right behind her. "So this is the limit of the famous byakugan. Pathetic." Hanabi couldn't understand how he had gotten so close without her notice, she had the byakugan activated and should have been able to see him long before he managed to make it there.

"HANABI!" Both Yoshinari and Taka yelled as they saw the large man standing behind her.

Hanabi turned on her hell with her chakra already forming in her open palm to deliver a possibly fatal blow to her opponent. As her hand neared her target her wrist was caught, before she had a chance to react she was flung halfway across the clearing right into Yoshinari who tried to catch her.

Taka rushed over and helped both of them stand and they turned back to their attacker.

First thing that crossed Taka's mind. _'This guy's tough.'_

'_How was he able to get past my byakugan? That shouldn't be possible.'_

'_HOLY SHIT THAT'S A BIG ASS SWORD'_

Zabuza chuckled darkly as he watched the three gennin hopefuls. "Hn, three brats fresh out of the academy. I'll enjoy ripping out your throats."

The three gennin had to repress a shudder.

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Meanwhile with Naruto.

Naruto sat next to Haku in a tree that was overlooking the clearing just outside of Hanabi's field of vision.

"So who do you think is gonna crack first?" Haku asked as he surveyed the group.

"Don't know really. Yoshinari is stubborn and headstrong. The same goes with Taka to a lesser extent and Hanabi has her Hyuuga pride. It all depends on Zabuza really.

Haku nodded and redirected his gaze back to the fight.

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Taka spoke to the others. "Come on. I think this guy's a jounin we have to go and get help."

The other two nodded and quickly turned and started to run back to the village when several Ice mirrors appeared infront of them, halting their advance. They were about to jump over them when Zabuza's appeared inside the mirrors. (This is just Haku using a henge for those of you that are jumping to conclusions)

The three gennins skidded to a stop and jumped back as the 'Mirror Zabuzas' threw several Kunai at them.

The real Zabuza laughed and the three gennin stood back to back so they could defend themselves.

"Tell you what, I'm feeling generous today kiddies so I'll let you two go. I'm only after the Hyuuga eyes."

Hanabi and her teammates tensed slightly as this declaration.

With a casual flick of his wrist a kunai whizzed by Taka's neck and drew a small trickle of blood. All three gennins tensed even more and had to fight down the urge to start trembling.

Zabuza watched with interest.

Hanabi tensed a little more before speaking. "You two should go. He's a jounin, I don't think we can beat him even if we attacked him together."

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Naruto having heard this declaration with his sharp ears raised an eyebrow in mild surprise _'Maybe I underestimated the value she placed on her teammates lives._

_Interesting'_

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Meanwhile Zabuza was having slightly similar thoughts. _'Hn, this brat might actually have what it takes. Now we just have to find out if the other two have the same courage.'_

"You can forget about that! There's no way we're leaving you to fight this steroid using freak on your own." Yoshinari exclaimed loudly making Zabuza's eyebrow start twitching rapidly. _'Steroid using freak? Ohhhh I'm gonna enjoy tortu-I mean 'testing' you brat.'_

"I don't think it's smart to piss off our attacker at this point Yoshinari. Taka pointed out as she noticed the twitch.

"You should listen to her brat." With that said Zabuza made a single seal and the mist grew thicker with the echo of Zabuza's laughter echoing through the clearing.

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Meanwhile with Naruto and Haku.

"Got any threes?" The blond asked the mist nin.

"Go fish."

Grumbling under his breath Naruto continued the game.

The game continued as the boy's ignored the sounds of Zabuza's slaught-TEST! Yes Zabuza's test.

Haku winced as the rather painful sound of Zabuza's foot connecting with flesh reached his ears.

"Don't you think we should stop him?"

"Nope. Got any fives?"

Haku sweatdropped.

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Meanwhile three beaten gennins and one dog now felt as if they were staring death in the face.

Zabuza slowly, almost tauntingly, walked closer to their three laying forms with that sick grin plastered on his face. "Well Hyuuga looks like it's time to carve out those precious eye's of yours."

With that declaration Zabuza raised his sword high in the air. He was about to bring it down on the young girl when, out of seemingly nowhere Yoshinary jumped in and but down on his forearm with enough force to draw blood.

Zabuza let out an angry snarl as he started trying to shake the boy off, only to draw more blood for his efforts.

Taka took the opportunity now that he was distracted and struggled to get to her feet. When she finally succeeded she stumbled slightly but regained her balance quickly enough and charged at the mist nin.

Zabuza was startled from his shaking of the brat by a sudden cry of **Tsuuga**! Zabuza snapped his head in the direction of the sound and came face to face with the spinning form of Inuzuka Taka. He only managed a small "Ohh shi" Before he was hit and thrown back skidding across the ground several feet.

Yoshinari though he hadn't received the full impact of the blow still felt the recoil and definitely felt the hard impact he made with the solid granite of the forest floor.

Taka promptly collapsed after her attack. She was laying down right next to Hanabi and with the last bit of her strength looked back at the girl and wheezed out. "We stalled him, get going."

Hanabi was torn on the inside. The more logical part of her the Hyuuga side told her to run, that her eyes were far more valuable to the village than her two comrades and that if an enemy ninja got their hands on them then the Hyuuga secrets might be revealed along with their weaknesses. Something that had been very well hidden from everyone even the citizens of Konoha itself.

However the other part the human part told her that she _couldn't_ abandon her comrades here. That she as a shinobi and…and…a _friend_ perhaps? Had to always help their comrades.

Then the words of her sensei rung through her head.

'_Those who break the rules are trash, but those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash.'_

As she stood up she saw the approaching form of Zabuza coming towards them. Looking a bit disheveled but otherwise unharmed.

He glared at the prone form of Taka. He then caught sight of the Hyuuga girl that was standing._ 'Alright, those two passed, my ribs can vouch for that but what about her?'_

With a fake cry of anger he lunged at the Inuzuka girl. When he was in range he jumped in the air ready to bring down Kubikiri.

Haabi saw what he was doing and her mind ran a mile a minute trying to come up with a decent plan. She was out of Kunai since she usually carried less than the average ninja. She didn't have the speed to grab Taka and get out of the way again.

'_Those who break the rules are trash but those who abandon their comrdes are worse than trash.'_

The words once again ran through her mind and she felt determination flow through her. Why? What was it about those 17 little words that gave her courage?

Hanabi found her legs moving on their own accord.

Zabuza was mildly surprised when she jumped infront of the girl. If she stayed there then he would pass her but if she moved he would fail her.

Meanwhile Hanabi was gathering chakra in all of her tenketsu and praying _'Please let this work.'_

When the girl started spinning Zabuza was confused but his confusion was cleared up as he heard a sudden cry. **"KAITEN!"**

Zabuza was blown back by the blast that surprisingly hurt but he was able to regain his balance and land on his feet.

Hanabi's Kaiten was by no means perfect. Where Neji's was almost perfectly circular and proportional hers was erratic, unstable and disproportional. She also used far too much chakra and so now found herself on her hands and knees gasping for breath.

Taka and Yoshinari were thinking that they had failed Hanabi somehow and felt small amounts of guilt welling up inside them.

But all that was cleared up as the three heard clapping coming from the side of the clearing and a familiar voice reached their ears.

"I am very impressed."

All three heads, abeit weakly turned to the owner of the voice.

And there stood Naruto smiling his foxy grin at them with somebody else they didn't recognize standing next to him.

After that sight all three genins promptly fainted from chakra exhaustion.

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Several hours later.

The three gennin woke up feeling as though they had been hit with a wooden plank 1000 times across every square inch of their body.

"Ughhh, what the hell happened?" Taka asked as she rubbed her head as she got up. Korou started licking her face as she regained her senses. The other two gennin were stirring as well.

It took some time for her vision to clear but she eventually found the grinning face of her sensei. She then noticed another boy with black silver streaked hair and…

OH SHIT!

Taka tensed and was ready to run away when she felt Naruto's hand on her shoulder. "Calm down." He said smiling gently. "All will be explained as soon as your teammates wake up."

So after her other two teammates woke up Naruto explained the situation which was, to put in layman's terms……

He got his good friend to beat the crap out of them to find out if they were worthy of becoming ninja.

'Sooooooo" Yoshinari said slowly as he stared from Naruto to the other two. "What was he here for?" He asked as he pointed at Haku.

"He did the mirror thingy that stopped you from escaping." Naruto replied calmly.

"Why didn't you just have him attack us?"

"Because Haku is too soft, Zabuza is far more intimidating and he wouldn't hesitate to beat you to within an inch of your life."

"Could you have stopped it at any time?" Hanabi asked with a certain edge in her voice.

"Yes."

"Why didn't you?" Taka asked

"I was playing cards."

At that Naruto had a cold chill run up his spine and he looked down to find three pairs of eyes attached to three gennin that looked ready to string him up by his toes while beating him with a bat…

…

A nail bat.

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Ina gazed at the letter in her hand with a semi-sad look on her face. She absently grabbed a pen and signed.

_To the Sandaime Raikage of Kumo_

_Requesting permanent transfer to Konoha._

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When Hanabi arrived home she almost immediately collapsed in her bed. She was near the world of blissful unconsciousness when a branch member knocked on her door and told her her father requested to see her.

With a grumble of several words no ten year old should know Hanabi made her way out of her room.

When she finally arrived at her fathers study she bowed as much as her pain allowed her to. "Good evening father."

"Good evening." He replied as he looked at her slightly disheveled state and the major signs of exhaustion in her body language he resisted the urge to wince. _'Maybe I should have saved this for another time. Bah, she's already here so we might as well get this over with.'_

"I would like for you to inform me of your gennin test today."

Hanabi had to fight back a groan of having to relive her experience but complied nonetheless.

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When she was finally finished her story she figured her father would scold her for not getting a bell but was surprised as she heard…

Chuckling?

What the hell?

She looked up to see her father was indeed chuckling softly to himself. She stayed quiet just watching the strange phenomenon that was known as Hiashi laughing. He stopped and spoke. "Well that was indeed a unique test. I am proud of the skills you showed today. To do a kaiten even an incomplete one at your age is truly remarkable. You may go and rest now, I will send dinner to your room to allow you to rest.

Hanabi blinked in surprise and it took several seconds to snap out of her daze before she replied. "Y-yes thank you father."

"Oh and Hanabi, I would like to meet this sensei of yours. Invite him to dinner."

Hanabi was once again surprised but nodded in acknowledgement

Hiashi nodded and Hanabi walked out of the room.

After she was out of earshot Hiashi sighed to himself. _'Have I truly become so cold that my own children do not expect kindness from me?'_

He suddenly had a flashback of a particularly bad incident when he berated Hinata for being far too weak.

He sighed again. _'No I don't suppose they would…Suzume…what would you do in this situation?'_

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Naruto walked into his house and immediately saw Ina sitting on the table with her back to him. He smiled and put his hands to cover her eyes making her jump slightly.

"Guess who?"

"Hey Naruto." She said with little enthusiasm.

Naruto noticed this and immediately let her go. "You okay?" He said as he bent down to be at eye level with her sitting form.

She nodded but Naruto wasn't convinced. He then noticed the letter in her hand. "Let me see."

Ina gave him the letter and Naruto's eyes immediately widened. "This is a request for a permanent transfer from Kumo to Konoha…Ina."

She smiled at him. Naruto smiled back t her and he took her hand into his. "Are you sure you want to do this?" He asked with concern.

She nodded as she continued to smile at him. "I want to stay with you. and I cant do that if I have to go back to Kumo for half a year."

"As long as you're sure. I don't want for you to feel forced into anything."

Ina cupped his cheek in her hand and smiled as she traced her thumb over his slightly darkened whiskers. "Awww, fluffy-chan you really do care." She said teasingly.

Naruto's eyes glinted dangerously. "Didn't I tell you not to call me fluffy ever again?"

"Hmm, I don't remember that."

Naruto gave off a low threatening growl at her playfulness.

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Meanwhile a certain white haired pervert was watching the proceedings in the apartment through a telescope with great interest while jotting down notes.

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Well that's it for this chap. In the next chap there will be Gaa/Ten Haku/Saku and Sasu/Kin for those of you that have been waiting for it.

Well please read and review I love getting feed back and criticism helps me improve on the story


	40. Tortu I MEAN Training the gennin

Here's another chapter I hope you guy's like it.

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Naruto slowly opened his eyes and looked at the alarm clock on the night stand.

_10:42_

He blinked. _'Huh, gotta meet my team in an hour' _ With that thought he went to get himself off the floor but encountered a slight problem with the vice like grip a certain female had on him.

He turned and looked down o the sleeping form of Ina.

(By the way they are both fully clothed for those of you who are letting your imaginations get the better of you.)

He smiled slightly but still no matter how much he liked this position he had to get to his team. He shook her gently but all he got in return was some mumbling and her burying herself in his shoulder a little more.

Naruto then tried to disentangle himself from her arms but every time he tried to pull away her grip would tighten.

Naruto sighed in exasperation. _'I guess I'm going in late today…Oh well, I cant really complain I kinda like the role of human teddy bear.'_

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It was about an hour later when Ina finally opened her eyes.

"Sleep well?"

Ina looked up at Naruto and smiled sleepily "Hey Naruto don't you have to meet your team today?"

Naruto smiled. "Well I would but I'm kinda held up at the moment."

Ina blinked a few times and she looked down and noticed the vice like grip she still had on Naruto and blushed slightly. "Sorry." She mumbled.

Naruto chuckled a little in response.

Ina yawned and stood up with Naruto following her. 'Aren't you gonna sleep in?" He asked raising an eyebrow.

Ina shook her head. "Nope I'm gonna go see the Hokage and see if I can get a job as an administrator or something since they don't usually let foreign ninja do any high class missions."

Naruto shrugged. "Okay." He then went to move to the bathroom but before he could reach it Ina moved past him and entered.

"Hey I still have to go meet my team." He cried out indignatly.

"You also have to be a gentlemen." She said with amusement from the other side of the door.

Naruto grumbled but wordlessly went and started preparing breakfast.

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It was another hour later when Naruto was finally heading out the door. "Bye Ina I'll see you later." He gave her a quick peck on the lips and walked to the door.

Just as he was opening the door a mask ninja appeared infront of him in a swirl of leaves. "SURPRISE!" He yelled with a wave of his hand making Naruto jump and stifle a scream.

"YOU CYCLOPTIC BASTARD! DON'T SNEAK UP ON ME LIKE THAT!"

Kakashi continued smiling.

"What the hell are you doing here anyway?" Naruto continued in a much calmer tone. "Didn't you, Sasuke and Sakura have a mission?"

"And Kin, don't forget about her since she has become your official replacement on team seven." Kakashi said with the ever present smile on his face.

Naruto raised an eyebrow in slight surprise.

Kakashi continued. 'Well anyway we completed our mission a little early and everyone heard you were back so we want you to come join us for training today."

Naruto shook his head a little sadly "Sorry, I got my own team to deal with today."

This time it was Kakashi's turn to raise his eyebrows in surprise. "They gave you a gennin team?" He asked with surprise barely evident in his voice.

Naruto scratched the back of his head rather sheepishly "Yup."

Ina then chose that time to make her presence known. "Who's at the door Naruto?" She peeked her head out from the corner.

Kakashi's visible eye widened even more before he turned back to Naruto with a lecherous grin on his face. "Oohohohohoho, Naruto I had no idea you could be so…"

Before he could complete his sentence Naruto grabbed him by the collar of his jacket and vanished in a puff of smoke. Leaving behind a slightly red Kunoichi.

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"YOUR LATE!" Came the cry from Yoshinari as he fumed and pointed at a smiling Naruto.

"Sorry but I was a bit tangled up this morning then I had to wait for the water in my house to start working and then some pervert was harassing a girl so I had to kick his ass." He twisted the truths of the morning effectively to make a very Kakashi like excuse.

All three gennin's eyebrows twitched a clear indication that they did not believe him. Naruto found great amusement in their combined killing intent. No wonder Kakashi always showed up late if it was this much fun.

"What missions will we be doing today?" Hanabi asked after her two teammates had calmed down.

Naruto smiled. "Oh we won't be doing missions today or for a while either."

Hanabi and the other two gave him strange looks but he continued without pause.

"To put it simply the missions you'll be doing as gennin are…pathetic. They shouldn't even be classified as missions really. So since I cant stand those missions we are going to train and train and train until everyone can safely say that you can take on C rank missions at least."

"So what kind of training will we be doing then?"

The gleam in Naruto's golden eyes terrified them. It made them want to run and hide under their beds, it made them want to visit their happy place.

The tone of his voice shook them to the core. "Ohhhh don't worry you will see."

The three gennins were terrified

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"Ughhh" The groan that escaped Hanabi's lips came out more like a whimper.

Naruto's training was brutal to the point of making a sparing match with her father look like fighting a civilian.

The first thing he did was make them walk up a tree using chakra. Hanabi, being a Hyuuga, got it down fairly easily. Naruto made her continue to run up and down that tree until her teammates finished the exercise.

Taka was the next to finish and Yoshinari finished about an hour and a half after that.

They figured they would be done after that since they were all tired but Naruto immediately forced them to go and walk on water that he secretly had Haku put just above freezing temperature.

Hanabi got the exercise down quickly again, much to her delight at not having to get soaked. Naruto made her continue to stand on water while she waited for her two teammates to finish. About an hour latter her two teammates managed to get it down. The gennins were now thoroughly exhausted looked at Naruto with silent pleading to allow them to leave.

But once again Naruto forced all of their hopes to go flying when he grinned feraly. He slowly walked on the water over to him.

With a single handseal he made hundreds of clones surround the lake. They looked at him in confusion. When he answered the predatory glint in his eyes multiplied. By several margins in intensity.

"None of you are allowed to leave this lake until at least one of you lands a decent hit on me."

The three gennin were in shock. Yoshinari and Taka decided to voice eachothers opinions "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU THINKING? WE'RE DEAD TIRED RIGHT NOW YOU BLOND HAIRED LUNATIC THERE'S NO WAY WERE GOING TO HAVE THE CHANCE TO HIT YOU!"

Naruto wagged his finger infront of their faces in a negative way. "Regardless of your protests. You're not leaving here until you can hit me."

The gennins were shocked but they had learned that when Naruto got that look he was dead serious and so with great effort they started to attack.

Naruto wasn't really expecting them to hit him. But the best way for them to practice controlling ones chakra while in a combat situation was doing this. And with their states of exhaustion their chakra is constantly fluctuating making it a bit more difficult to control.

So when Hanabi finally collapsed from chakra exhaustion and passed out Naruto wasted no time in grabbing her limp form from the water and pulling her up to the surface while declaring the exercise was over.

The other two gennin walked over to the edge of the lake and promptly collapsed. Falling asleep almost instantly.

Naruto sighed and made two shadow clones. They each picked up one of the kids and started walking to their respective houses.

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A few minutes later.

"Hiya." Naruto greeted the Hyuuga guard, dressed all in white, standing at the white gate, that led to the two white houses made from white wood with white lilies and flowers decorating the garden.

'_I think their scared of colors.' _Naruto thought as a small sweatdrop formed on the back of his head.

The branch member immediately recognized the limp form of Hanabi slung under Naruto's arm like a sack of potatoes. "What have you done to Hanabi-sama?" He said as he activated his byakuugan.

Naruto waved his free hand infront of him defensively "Hey now wait a minute. I'm her jounin sensei. We just did some hard training and she suffered from chakra exhaustion. So I brought her home."

The guard sensed no deception coming from Naruto so he deactivated his byakugan and nodded. "Very well. Please go and take her to Hiashi-sama." The guard was not a stupid man so he did not do stupid things. Ariving in Hiashi's office in mid afternoon with a half dead Hanabi was a stupid thing to do.

Better the blond kid than him.

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Naruto slowly walked through the halls of the Hyuuga residence honing in on the largest chakra signature he could sense. He continued until he was infront of another white door with the chakra signature directly behind it.

He slowly opened the door and peeked his head inside.

He then felt the cold edge of a kunai on his neck. "Do you mind informing me why you are in my study?"

Naruto scratched his head, seemingly ignorant of the sharp weapon very close to his jugular.

He slowly brought Hanabi's limp form forward so Hiashi could see her. "Chakra exhaustion." Naruto explained simply.

Hiashi activated his byakuugan and immediately noticed that she had no physical injuries and that the boy was telling the truth. He slowly lowered his blade and took Hanabi in his arms.

"Follow me."

With that said he walked down the hall. Naruto silently fumed at being bossed around but complied none the less.

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Meanwhile half way across town.

"Good evening." The Naruto clone said politely to the surprised form of Inuzuka Tsume.

Tsume looked down to the unconscious girl under his arm and then looked back up to the unconscious dog on his head.

Naruto wordlessly handed the girl to the woman. And then placed the dog on the still slightly stunned woman's head.

"Tell her to come to the training field tomorrow at the same time as today. Bye, bye."

With that said he vanished in a puff of smoke.

Tsume meanwhile only had one thought going through her mind at the moment. _'He looks just like the fourth.'_

Meanwhile Inuzuka Kitcho stood on the roof with a confused gaze.

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Once again on the other side of town.

Naruto silently knocked on the door of Yoshinari's house.

There was a shuffling sound within the house and moments later a middle aged, yet fairly good looking, woman opened the door. She had black hair like Yoshinari's eyes that were a strange shade of green and blue and was wearing a simple civilian outfit.

She immediately noticed Naruto's whisker marks and her son slung under his arm. She let out a shriek and snatched the unconscious boy away from Naruto's grasp.

"What have you done to my son you filthy demon!" She yelled at him, while simultaneously handling a menacing spatula that she had gotten out of somewhere.

Naruto sighed tiredly. This was getting bothersome, he waited patiently for the woman to finish her tirade. "I knew you were dangerous. I'll assure you the Hokage will hear of this you filthy…"

She was cut off by a second voice coming from within the house. "What's that?"

From another part of the house came a man that was about 6'2 had silver hair and blue eyes. His build was rather slim for his height but one could tell that he had experience in combat if the jounin vest was any indication.

The woman immediately turned to the man Naruto assumed was her husband. "Jiro this filthy monster has hurt our son."

The man now known as Jiro gently took his son from his wife's grasp and laid him on the couch. "It's a simple case of chakra exhaustion dear. He'll be fine."

The woman then turned back to Naruto with a cold glare. "And as for you…"

She was once again cut off. "That's enough." Her husbands voice was firm. "He was not at fault, this is normal for a shinobi.

She looked like she was about to protest but a firm glare stopped her. With an angry huff she walked back into the house but not before giving Naruto one last glare for good measure.

Naruto shook his head. "I apologize for the trouble."

Jiro shook his head. "Do not apologize. You are not the one at fault. If anything I should be apologizing for her behavior."

Naruto closed his eyes. "I'm used to it. Good afternoon."

Jiro nodded. "Don't worry I'll try talking to her again."

Naruto nodded in thanks and then vanished in a puff of smoke.

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Back in the Hyuuga residence

Hiashi had just finished placing Hanabi in her room and now turned to fully look at Naruto. He raised an eyebrow in slight surprise "Weren't you twelve years old?"

Naruto shrugged "It's complicated."

Hiashi nodded. "Well then Uzumaki Naruto. I would like to invite you to join my family for dinner. I think it would help for Hanabi to get to know you outside of training."

This time it was Naruto's turn to raise his eye brows in slight surprise "Well Hiashi-sama under any other circumstances I would like to accept your offer, however I am currently entertaining guests in my home and I believe it would be considered rude if I came here and left her alone at home."

"Is there any particular reason that your guest cannot accompany you?"

"She is a nin from Kumo."

Hiashi immediately stiffened.

Naruto smiled. "See. She would not feel welcome in a place like this. The Hyuuga clan and Kumo have had many problems in the past. So I must decline your offer Hiashi-sama with all due respect."

Hiashi looked at Naruto with an expressionless gaze. "Very well Naruto-san however if you will not join us for dinner then perhaps you will join me for a private discussion when you are available."

Naruto was taken aback by this but after a few seconds nodded his head in affirmative.

Hiashi nodded in acknowledgement and turned away. "Good evening Naruto-san.

Naruto stood in the hallway for several seconds before he shrugged and vanished in a puff of smoke.

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Naruto arrived at his house only to immediately be glomped by Ina with enough force to nearly make him fall on his ass. But he managed to keep his balance and returned the hug. "Not that I don't mind but what made you this happy."

Ina let go of him and began waving a piece of paper infront of him. "Tsunade-sama approved of my request. I'm gonna be an assistant to somebody called Umino Iruka at the academy." She looked at Naruto expectantly.

Naruto scratched his chin as if deep in thought. "I pity the poor children that will be in your class."

Ina's eyebrow started twitching and a vein grew on her forehead. She growled dangerously as she lunged at the blond.

Naruto gave an undignified squeak and immediately twisted his body out of the way.

What ensued was a miniature chase within the small apartment.

Ina playfully tackled Naruto to the floor. He fell with a thud and rolled with Ina's and his arms wrapped in a grapple. Their roll ended with Ina kneeling over him on his back, his arms pinned above his shoulders.

"Wow, Ina," said Naruto. "You appear to have gotten stronger."

"I've picked up a few things since I came here." said Ina with a sly grin.

Neither of them could deny to themselves how much they liked being in this situation. They both did pretty well to hide their blushes as well as their arousal though. However, the wicked smile on Ina's lips betrayed her thoughts.

"Bad Ina," said Naruto, returning the grin. "I know what you're thinking."

"You do, do you?" she asked smartly. Naruto lunged upward, effectively throwing himself up, even with her on top of him, and they rolled backwards right onto Ina's back, this time with her arms pinned above her head… a very precarious position. The tables, as they say, had been turned.

Naruto smiled triumphantly. "Yes, I do," he said with a victorious smile.

Ina leaned up and whispered into his ear. "If you knew what I was thinking... it would blow your _mind._" Naruto blushed deeply, despite his efforts, as Ina fell backwards to see the results of her work. She laughed.

"Priceless!" she said, struggling between laughs to breath.

"_Really bad_," said Naruto, covering up his stimulation again. The laughter eventually stopped, and they remained in that position for several long seconds of silence.

"Naruto?" asked Ina, smiling pleasantly.

"Hn?"

"Are you going to kiss me, or are you just going to straddle me and look at me all night?" she asked.

Naruto blushed. Duh, who wouldn't? The most beautiful woman in Naruto's eyes had invited him to kiss her. He didn't waste time talking or even breathing.

He bent down and pressed his lips against hers, and he let himself fall into the state of nirvana. Parting her lips with his tongue, he probed the inside of her mouth, and she eagerly accepted his challenge, allowing his tongue to enter as she played with it with her own.

Their moment however was interupted with by the sound that made Naruto's eyes turn red.

Giggling

He recognized that giggle. Both He and Ina looked up and saw Jiraiya standing on the window with his note book while furiously scribbling down notes completely oblivious to the growing danger that was Uzumaki Naruto.

Ina blushed deep crimson and turned away as if to hide her embarrassment.

Naruto however was positively livid. Males by sheer instinct have a slightly stronger sexual drive than females and have much more difficulty exiting an aroused state than females did.

So now we have a sexually aroused Uzumaki with tension that could no longer be released with his female companion with the white haired pervert standing there so blatantly.

So now he only had one way to release this now built up tension.

By beating the white haired sannin to a bloody pulp.

His inner demon was also raving for blood.

And for once Naruto was only too happy to give in to his baser instincts.

Kyuubi also had to agree.

"**Ero-sennin"**

Jiraiya suddenly had a cold chill run up his spine.

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The cries of the white haired pervert echoed through the village and the next morning the bloody form of a man could be seen dragging himself by his broken arm to the Konoha hospital.

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I promised that there would be some Gaara/Ten and Haku/Saku in this chap but as you can see I kinda got caught up.

But don't worry now that I have all this out of the way I can do it in the next chap. I swear that there will be the long awaited fluffyness in the next chap I promise


	41. Approved

Well here's another chapterHope you guy's like it.

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Tenten scowled in anger as yet another kunai was stopped by Gaara's sand. She had asked him not to hold back so she could train for the chuunin exam.

So now here she was, tired, panting, sweaty, dirty with scrapes and bruises marring her delicate form.

While Gaara was standing just a few feet away with his arms crossed and a bored expression on his face without even a hair out of place. It infuriated her to no end.

Gaara noticed her growing anger and frustration and smirked to himself. "Are you going to attack me some time today Tenten or are you just gonna stand there?" Tenten seethed and gritted her teeth in anger. "This is truly getting boring Tenten."

Tenten's eyes flashed. _'Oh that is it!'_ She mentally screamed before taking out two scrolls and leaped high in the air. Gaara followed her form with his eyes watching in a bored manner. "This old trick again girl?" Gaara couldn't help it, he was enjoying taunting and ultimately pissing her off.

_Old trick huh?_'' Tenten thought maliciously as an evil smirk crossed her lips as she unrolled the scroll and hundreds of weapons rained down on the redhead.

Gaara calmly formed his sand to stop all of the projectiles. Tenten may not realize it but these little spars were helping him just as much as they were helping her. He was slowly gaining a mastery of his sand instead of allowing Shukaku to control it for him.

When the rain of metal ended Gaara dispelled his sand but found he couldn't see Tenten anywhere.

He looked around but he couldnt find that damn girl anywhere.

There was a smal tickling of his senses and his eyes went wide as Tenten exploded from the ground right infront of him with a kunai poised for the finishing strike.

Reflex alone was what made Gaara form his sand fast enough to grab her wrist. Gaara could see the tip of the kunai mere inches from his left eye. He averted his gaze making his eyes meet with Tentens for a moment. She smiled a wicked smile that was mirrored by Gaara.

With a flick of his sand she was tossed away. She flew several feet in the air before flipping gracefully and landing on her feet like a cat.

Gaara nodded. "Better." Tenten had to smile at the praise no mater how small it was still something. "But still sloppy" Her smile disappeared, replaced by an angry scowl.

Gaara had to smile to himself at her anger. This girls rapid display of emotions amused him to no end. And he had to silently admit, she was cute when she was angry.

His smile soon disappeared as Tenten pointed down at his feet. His eyes narrowed and he slowly looked down.

The hole she had made in the ground was positively littered with exploding tags.

Gaara's eye twitched _'Has she been hanging out with Naruto?'_

He didn't have a chance to contemplate that as he was forced to jump away from the massive explosion that destroyed the ground beneath his feet.

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Meanwhile in a clearing just a few kilometers away Sakura stood surrounded by Haku's dome of Ice mirrors.

"Remind me again why I'm doing this." Haku said as he looked at the pink haired girl who currently looked like she had been through a train wreck just after running a six mile marathon.

Sakura panted a bit before replying with a wide smile. "Tsunade-sama said that medics had to be swift so as not to get hit during a battle. This is the best training I could think of."

Haku blinked a couple of times. He had to admit that the girl had gotten faster during the few lessons she had received from Tsunade. He hadn't really been using his full speed or much effort but to be able to keep up with him at all for even a few minutes was a feat in and of itself.

Zabuza meanwhile was lying down at the base of a tree since he didn't have anything better to do, while secretly looking for anything that he could use to get the kids in a compromising position and then have ammo to use against Haku for life.

He was silently impressed by the girls ability to dodge Haku's attacks, even if they were half hearted ones.

Haku continued to throw senbon at Sakura. His thoughts traveled however. He tried, he really did but he couldn't stop his wandering eyes from traveling up and down her slim figure. He took in every detail of her curves. It was strange really, he barely knew this girl for more than a month and a half or so yet she affected him in a way that no other had before her.

He shook his head lightly and fought down a blush as he continued to throw senbon at her. Once again trying not to let his thoughts wander.

Sakura however was dead tired and losing both chakra and her focus quickly. So it was no surprise when a few of Haku's senbon actually caught her in the leg. Causing her to lose all feeling in the appendage and suddenly fall down on the ground. "Ouch" She groaned as she picked herself up by her hands.

She tried to get to her feet but only succeeded in falling on her but again. She looked up and found Haku standing over her with an outstretched hand and a gentle yet slightly apologetic smile on his face. "Sorry" He said a bit timidly.

She smiled a warm smile and accepted his hand as he helped her up. "No need to be sorry, this is training, better getting injured here than in the field right?"

Haku nodded and wrapped an arm around her waist as he helped her walk over to where Zabuza was waiting.

When he got to the tree he set her down gently, and began removing the senbon.

Zabuza spoke up then. "I gotta say I'm kinda impressed girl. To be able to last as long as you did is pretty good especially for a gennin.

Sakura blushed slightly at the praise and turned to Zabuza. "Thanks for the complement Zabuza-san but I don't think I'm that good yet."

Zabuza shrugged. "Your right. I just said it was impressive for a gennin."

Haku then spoke. "All done. Come on, if you walk on that leg you'll get the feeling back in it faster." Sakura nodded and once again Haku helped her up and wrapped an arm around her waist while she put an arm over his shoulders.

And Zabuza found his golden opportunity.

With a flick of his wrist a kunai flew through the air and buried itself in the ground up to the hilt, right where Haku's foot would step.

Haku didn't notice the kunai until he finally steped on it. The odd obstacle made him lose his balance and made him fall down on the ground, taking Sakura with him.

As they both fell time seemed to slow down.

And once again time sped up just in time for them to feel each others lips in a soft kiss. Both of their eyes were wide with shock. The only thing they could hear was their thundering hearts furiously trying to jump out of their chest. Not even the howling sound of Zabuza's laughter reached them.

In an instant both teenagers were ten feet away from eachother looking like ripe tomatoes.

Haku and Sakura sent a cold glare at Zabuza. Who, at the moment, seemed to find the green leaves at the treetops very interesting with a coy smile on his masked face.

But the glare seemed kinda half hearted.

Just then a massive explosion rocked the area.

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Meanwhile in another clearing.

"DAMNIT WOMAN HOW THE HELL CAN YOU NOT GET SUCH A SIMPLE JUTSU!" A certain raven haired Sharingan user yelled in irritation at yet another raven haired ex-sound nin.

Meanwhile the ex-sound nin turned to the raven haired sharingan user with an icy glare. "Don't.Test.Me.Uchiha." She spoke through gritted teeth.

Sasuke huffed in annoyance and crossed his arms. He had been trying to teach Kin the **Ryuuka no jutsu **due to the simple fact that the jutsu relied on wires to guide it's trajectory. Kin was a damn near expert with ninja wire and shuriken. To the point where he could say she may even be a bit more efficient than he himself in that respect.

But those things will only take her so far with just some minor genjutsu. So he decided that her jutsu needed a bit more punch. She had enough chakra for the jutsu since Kakashi had given her some stamina building exercises but the stupid girl kept messing up when she made the jutsu and barely managed to get smoke out of her.

He looked at the girl again and activated his sharingan which now had two tomoes in each eye. "Allright. Try it again let me see if I can find what your doing wrong." He said as he peered at her with those red eyes.

Kin fidgeted a little under his gaze but soon caught herself and started her series of hand seals. She felt strange under his gaze. When she was a sound nin she had heard terrible stories of the sharingan, the so called copy-wheel-eye. Stories that told of the horrible nightmares the people that had faced that eye suffered.

But now, with him, she didn't feel in any danger. She didn't see the terrible crimson, blood red eyes, that they described. No she saw eyes that were radiant like rubies. It sort of made her feel triumphant that she felt no fear of the sharingan like so many others did.

She didn't even noticed that she had been doing hand seals until his voice pulled her out of her thought pattern.

"Stop." He said placing his hand over hers." She pretended not to notice while working on her heart rate. Why the hell was he doing this to her? "You're doing the last three handseals wrong. Here let me help.

With that said he walked behind her and wrapped his arms around her in order to gently grab her hands and corrected the slight mistakes in her hand seals. "You got it now?" His voice caressed her ear and she had to hold back a shiver.

Not trusting her voice she merely nodded.

Sasuke released her and walked over to the side. He crossed his arms and silently watched as she began the hand seals again. All the while having an internal argument.

'_Why the hell did I do that? I could have easily helped her fix the hand seals without going around her and..._

'_**Hugging her.'** An inner voice spoke_

'_Yeah.'_

_There was a long pause_

'_**You liked it didn't you?'**_

'_Ye-NO!' He mentally screamed in his mind as he felt his cheeks heat up._

'_**HAHA!' **The voice exclaimed. **'YOU ARE BLUSHING! I WAS RIGHT!'** Suddenly a chibi version of Sasuke poofed in his mind and began doing a little victory dance all the while chanting **'You liked it...you liked it... you...'**_

Sasuke shook his head to relieve himself of the disturbing image. Jut in time to see Kin breath out a decent stream of flames that scorched the tree she had her wires attached to. It wasn't anywhere near the amount of power he could pull off but it was decent for a beginner.

Kin slowly fell back as she suddenly felt dizzy. Her world sort of faded for a moment before it came back into focus.

She felt two arms wrapped around her as she slowly opened her eyes and found Sasuke with an indifferent look on his face…(But if you squinted really really hard you might find a hint of worry.)

"Are you allright?"

She nodded tiredly.

"Idiot, you should have focused on your chakra. You used too much."

Kin's face contorted into a small scowl. "Well excuse me for not being perfect like the great Uchiha." She said with anger even through her fatigue.

Sasuke smirked arrogantly. "Don't worry I forgive you."

Kin glared at him. "Bastard." She whispered.

Sasuke dug in his pocket and pulled out a soldier pill. 'Here" He cracked the pill in half and gave it to her. She chewed on it and swallowed and felt the rush as her chakra came back to her.

Sasuke immediately helped her up and steadied her since she still looked a bit woozy.

She gained her bearings and turned to him with a Sasuke-ish smirk. "You know? Your not half bad Uchiha."

"Hn." He said as his face slowly formed into a smirk of his own.

Just then a large explosion was seen a short distance away.

"What the hell?" They both said at the same time. They looked at each other in slight surprise but in the end shrugged and ran to the site.

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Gaara stood calmly on a platform of floating sand above the scene of destruction. With Tenten staring up at him with a ticked off expression on her face.

Gaara smirked.

Ohhh, how Tenten wished she could wipe it right off his face. It just wasn't right. She had given her all and he had barely done anything but stand there.

She glared at him one last time for good measure and promptly fell on her back in exhaustion.

Gaara slowly lowered his sand platform and crouched down next to her. They stared at eachother for a few minutes before Gaara spoke. "You lost." He deadpanned, eliciting a furious glare from Tenten. He really couldn't deny it. She was cute when she was angry.

He smirked that arrogant smirk of his and Tenten turned her head so as not to look.

Gaara's smirk grew and he wordlessly moved to pick her up. Tenten squeaked in suiprise as she felt an arm go under her knees and back. "Wh-what are you doing?" She half asked half yelled as a healthy tinge of pink decorated her face.

Gaara looked at her with curiosity though no one could tell beneath his hood."I am taking you to rest by the tree. Or wouldn you perfer getting heat stroke?" He asked in a bored manner.

Tenten shook her head.

As they approached a tree an amused voice spoke up. "Well well isn't this interesting?"

Tenten and Gaara looked up and found Zabuza staring down at them from the tree branch with a wide smirk behind his mask as his eyes danced with amusement.

Tenten blushed while Gaara looked indiferent.

Gaara wordlessly set her down at the base of the tree that Zabuza was curently occupying. "What's interesting Zabuza?" Zabuza then jumped down from the tree and looked at Tenten's slightly pink face, his smirk growing wider by the minute "Ohh you'll figure it out eventually." He winked sugestively at Tenten but Gaara didnt notice since he currently had his back to the demon of the mist.

Tenten however did notice and it caused her cheeks to flare up even more.

"Hey Tenten, Gaara, Zabuza what's going on." The three turned and found a confused looking Sakura standing there with a confused looking Haku.

Tenten was relieved for the change of subject as she smiled and waved happily. "Ohh nothing, I was just practicing with Hoodie."_ Ha how's that for payback?' _Tenten though mischevously.

At the sound of Gaara's nickname Sakura and Haku snickered while trying to hide it and Zabuza openly laughed. Gaara glared at her with his pattented death glare yet it went completely unnoticed by the bun wearing girl.

"So that's what was going on. You guy's were training." Everyone looked up and saw Sasuke and Kin standing on a tree branch just a few yards away.

Just then an overly loud voice cried out. "YOSH GAI SENSEI LOOK AT THE GREAT DAMMAGE OUR TEAMMATE TENTEN HAS CAUSED TO HER TRAINING FIELD SHE BURNS WITH THE PASSIONS OF YOUTH!"

YES LEE YOU ARE RIGHT OUR DEAR TENTEN IS SIMPLY BURNING WITH FIREY EXUBERANCE!"

The people who had never seen this absolutely ridiculous scene before (Gaara and Kin. Haku and Zabuza had witnessed it earlier when Kakashi was showing them around the village when they first showed up...needless to say when they got to the Hotel room they didnt want to come out for three days.) openly stared. While everyone else that had seen it before turned their heads to blatantly ignore them.

"Training? This place looks like a war zone!" Everyone once again turned to the familiar voice and found Naruto with Ina standing a few feet away staring down at the decent crater Tenten's explosive tags had created.

Tenten smiled a bit sheepishly and scratched the back of her head.

"Hey Naruto!"Sakura greeted as she waved at him while Sasuke 'Hn'-ed with a small smirk on his face.

After the greetings and hellos were exchanged Kin decided to ask. "So what are you doing here blondie?"

"Well I was invited by Hiashi to ummm, have a drink with him I suppose and when I told Ina this she said that I needed other clothes besides shinobi gear and so we were gonna go to get some when we saw the explosion and came here to check it out."

The girls were instantly by his side with wide eyed stary expressions "YOU'RE GOING SHOPPING?" They all cried exitedly. Naruto paled while Ina nodded her head enthusiastically.

Before anyone had a chance to blink the girls turned around and looked at the other boys. "You wanna come?" They asked again at the same time. Haku was about to decline when Sakura suddenly appeared next to him and grabbed his arm. "Come on Haku all I ever see you in is that blue armor."

"Hey wait but I dont want to-ACK" All his protests were silence as Sakura practically started dragging his sorry ass over.

Gaara, not knowing anything about this strange phenomenon that females called shopping decided to find out what had them so excited. So when Tenten asked him he wordlessly acepted and followed. (The poor poor foolish soul)

"I dont go shoping." Sasuke said as he turned to walk away.

"Oh shut up Uchiha your coming weather you like it or not" With that said Kin stalked up behind him and grabbed the back of his collar and litterally dragged Sasuke behind the rest of the group.

Zabuza stood there, blinking a couple of times before he burst out laughing and moved a Sake bottle to his lips. "Whiped at such a young age. Damn."

His amusement was cut short however as the cry of "GAI-SENSEI"

"LEE"

"GAI-SENSEI"

"LEE"

Zabuza gritted his teeth and turned to the green clad duo with fury in his eyes "THAT'S IT! I'VE HAD IT!" He yelled as he unhooked Kubikiri and charged at the green clad ninja.

"ZABUZA-SAN YOU MUST RECONSIDER MURDERING US!"

"NO! YOU DIE TODAY!"

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A few hours later.

"It's not fair is it?" Sakura said to Ina.

Ina shook her head somberly. "No it's not."

Kin decided to chime in. "Between the four of them their fasion sense is about as good as that of a bowl of fruits."

Tenten spoke next. "But Gaara looks great."

Sakura spoke next "Haku looks amazing"

"The Uchia can pass as a model." Kin said semi sulkilly

"And Naruto's fucking Hot as hell" The eldest of the group finally chimed in.

The shopping trip had been going on for a while now. When they had finally mannaged to convince Sasuke and Gaara to try on some of the clothing the two of them came out and asked the exact same question. "Where are the Kunai holsters?" Which then ensued a long explanation as to why these civilian clothes did not have such acesories which then led to another explanation as to why they were buying them.

Naruto and Gaara had used Genjutsu to hide their more...unique features. Gaara had even taken it one step further by changing his eyes to the sea green that they were before his fusion with Shukaku. It was a nice change but Tenten still liked the Shukaku eyes more.

Six hours, fifty one minutes, twenty four seconds later.

The group of eight was standing outside under the starless night sky.

"Well looks like were done for the day." Said Naruto with no small amount of relief in his voice.

The guy's smiled happily while the girls all seemed a bit put out.

Naruto looked at Ina "Shall we go?" She smiled happily and nodded. "Bye guys" Naruto said.

"I hope we do this again some time."Ina said as she waved at them. They all nodded and were about to go their seperate ways when Naruto's arm snaked around her waist as they rounded the corner.

They all looked at each other. Haku spoke first. "You dont think...she's Naruto's..."

"Well...she is staying at his house."Sakura said thoughtfully

"But that's just because of the treaty thing isnt it." Tenten chirped in.

The six of them gave a thoughtful 'Hmmmmm' Before they all wordlessly crept into the shadows and decided to follow.

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Naruto and Ina were walking to the apartment when a deep, low rumble sounded from the sky and seconds later it started raining by the gallon.

Ina being the rational person she is immediately moved to get under something to protect her from the rain...or at least tried to. It was a bit difficult with Naruto blocking her path.

"Naruto what are you doing? We have to get out of this." She said as she watched his eyes glitter with mischief. She felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. She knew _that_ look. It was the same look he got whenever he was in one of his _playfull_ moods.

"What's the matter? Dont you like the rain?" He asked with barely hidden amusement.

Ina knew she had to find something to get out of that place and she had to do it fast. "Ummm, no" She said meekly.

Naruto's hair turned silvery white and two white wings sudnly sprouted from his back. Ina yelped when he sudenly vanished and picked her up bridal stile. The next thing she knew they were hovering a good hundreed feet above the ground.

She looked down, that proved to be a mistake as she squealed and clung to Naruto even tighter, nearly to the point of sufocation. But the smile still remained on his face. Especially since he could _feel _everything since the only thing that really seperated them were their wet clothing.

Ina looked at him from the corner of her eye and glared at him when she noticed his smile. "You planned this didnt you?"

Naruto turned to her with mischief still in his eyes. "Maybe. But still you have to admit..." He paused and leaned in close so that their lips were almost tauntingly close "You're enjoying this just as much as I am." He whispered, making her fight back a shudder as she offered her own mischevous smirk.

"Maybe I am."

Naruto grinned and wasted no time in closing the remaining distance between them as his white aura grew slightly. Giving the appearance of a bright star in the sky for those looking from a distance.

Down on the ground Three girls looked at the scene with slightly stary eyes. They all sighed dreamily and spoke at the same time. "So romantic." They sudenly snapped out of their daze and turned to the three males behind them with the females greatest weapon..._The Glare._

The three boy's flinched and discretely looked away. All the while wondering what the hell the girls were glaring at them for.

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Meanwhile a certain demon of the mist was about to bring his sword down on a green clad jounin when he noticed the light. He squinted his eyes trying to see it better and when he finally saw exactly what was happening inside the light he gave out a yell. "GOOD JOB BRAT!"

Unfortunately the green clad jounin heard him and broke off into a dead sprint.

"GOODDAMNIT GET BACK HERE."

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Meanwhile a certain hospitalised pervert looked out his window and smiled as he saw the white light in the distance. "I taught you well my student.

He clicked a button.

Moments later a nurse walked in. "Is there anything I can do for you Jiraiya-sama"

"Yes can I please get a pen and paper"

"Yes sir."She bowed and walked out the door.

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Meanwhile in Kumo an old man looked out his balcony and noticed a faint shimmer in the distance. He smiled for a reason that was lost to him as he held a small white papper firmly in his hand. He looked down at the papper and a sad, yet content smile crossed his lips.

He took his pen.

"Request for permanent transfer to Konoha...approved."

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Well that's all for this chap. I hope you guy's like it. Read and review. If there are any requests or suggestions or constructive criticism feel free to tell me


	42. Ina's first day and Hiashi's peril

Here's another chap.

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Ina stared at the group of students sitting in their desks infront of her with a feeling of uncertainty. They were just children, or were supposed to be children. But something else…something beneath the surface told her to be afraid, very afraid.

Next to her Iruka cleared his throat. "Ahem, class, I would like for you to meet Ina-san. She will be my assistant until further notice."

"Hello Ina-san" The group of children chanted simultaneously and smiled at her with wide angel like expressions.

Ina had never been more terrified in her entire life.

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Naruto meanwhile sat on a boulder while watching his students work on a new form of chakra control he had invented.

Walking on hot coals while using chakra to not get burnt.

Needless to say the gennin were not amused.

The difficult part of this test was that heat was a form of energy. Since it was an energy it naturally fluctuated the gennin's chakra at their feet making it much harder to control.

The gennin had to solidify their chakra enough so the heat would not mess with the barrier they had formed at their feet while simultaneously controlling the flow of chakra so as not to get blown away or actually increase the heat of the coals on some occasions.

"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU, YOU BLOND HAIRED BASTARD!" Yoshinari yelled as he pointed an angry finger at Naruto.

"YEAH THIS TRAINING IS IMPOSSIBLE!" Taka said next to him as her dog barked in agreement.

"Surely you cannot expect gennin to be able to do such a task. Even I cannot do it." Hanabi said with composure even though Naruto could tell that she wanted to strangle him.

"Actually I did this training when I was eight and not even a gennin yet."

Four sets of jaws (don't forget the dog) dropped in surprise. Naruto stretched and laid back on the boulder with a happy sigh. "Wake me when your done."

The three gennin grumbled and turned to continue their training.

Naruto meanwhile was having a flashback to when Zabuza trained Gaara, Haku and himself in the water walking chakra control exercise.

_Flashback:_

"_Allright brats" Zabuza yelled to his three wards. "Today your gonna learn how to walk on water, same as the tree climbing get to it."_

_The three boys nodded mutely and turned to do their tasks._

_Three hours later_

"_Oh for fucks sake." Zabuza muttered as the boys fell into the water again. As they approached the shore he picked all three of them up and tossed them to the center of the lake. _

_He made a series of hand seals and yelled out.** "Suiton: Goshokuzame" **_ _Five sharks immediately formed in the water and began attacking the three gennin. "You'll be safe above water!" Zabuza called out to them before he turned around to fall asleep. _

"_That should make things much faster." He muttered to himself as he dozed off._

_Flashback end:_

Naruto shook his head and sighed. "I still have to get the boozehound back for that."

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Iruka had started off the day with some basic exercises where the kids ran laps, practiced some light Taijutsu and Kunai practice.

Then Iruka had taken them back into class but because of a mishap one of the kids injured himself. Iruka asked Ina to take over the class while he took the kid to the infirmary.

After that everything went to hell.

The second Iruka walked out of the classroom the students went into a frenzy. Yelling, screaming, throwing papers, making notes, passing notes, talking. Ina tried to get their attention but everything she tried failed.

She rubbed her temples in agitation. "QUIET!" She yelled at the top of her lungs. The gennin paused for a moment before immediately resuming their activities.

Ina's eyebrow twitched dangerously. She delved into her memories for how her teacher in Kumo kept the kids in order.

Her eyes scanned the room for the main instigator of the disorder. When she found him, she quickly took out eight shuriken and in an instant the boy was pinned to a wall.

It worked like magic.

The gennin all quieted and stared at the female Kunoichi with awe in their young eyes. Ina's eyes held a victorious glint in them. "Now. Let me introduce myself properly I am Masayuki Ina, your assistant instructor. When Iruka-san is not around I will be in charge of this classroom and you will all follow my instructions. Are we clear?"

At the classes simultaneous nods she smiled brightly. "Good" She chirped before grabbing a textbook "Now then. The history of Konoha begins with the first Hokage…

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When Iruka entered the room he was greeted by a sight that made him think the apocalypse was coming. His class…his students…his wild, untamed, hyperactive students, were listening to his assistant teacher talk about the history of Konoha AND they were actually paying attention.

He was so shocked he completely ignored the boy stuck to a wall.

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Naruto silently entered the Hyuuga mannor. He had come with Hanabi but as soon as they had gotten here she made a beeline straight for the hot springs and ditched him.

So he continued the journey to Hiashi's office on his own.

He slowly creaked the door open. "Hiashi?" He called as he poked his head into the room.

"Ahh, Naruto-san." Hiashi replied in greeting as he rolled up a scroll he had been reading. "Come have a seat." He said gesturing to one of the seats infront of his desk. Naruto nodded and sat down respectfully.

Naruto had gone to Kurenai, Hinata and Neji before he came here so he could find out as much as possible about the Hyuuga clan head. From what he had heard from all three of them Hiashi was a cold individual that favored Hanabi over Hinata and was probably the one responsible for Hinata's lack of confidence.

All in all, he held little to no respect for the man.

As Hiashi offered him tea he gracefully accepted. It would be considered rude to decline when it was the clan head that was offering. Naruto may not hold any respect towards him, but he didn't want to disrespect the man inside his own home.

The silence in the room stretched for several seconds before Hiashi finally broke the silence.

"Naruto-san" He began. "I must ask a favor of you."

Naruto's eyes narrowed slightly. _'He's probably going to ask me to give special training to Hanabi.'_

"As you know, the Hyuuga clan have many enemies. Therefore, I would be grateful if…"

"Stop right there, Hiashi-san" Naruto stopped him cold. He looked into the older Hyuuga's pale eyes, his lips set in a grim line on his face. "I don't know what kind of instructors you have dealt with lately but I do not play favorites. Hanabi will get the same amount of training her peers receive. If my gennin team were my children I would not choose to favor one over the other just because the other has a few problems more problems." He said slyly taking a jab at the older man.

Hiashi was not blind so he immediately saw what the boy was insinuating. He did not act on it however. "Naruto-san, I must insist."

Naruto sighed and stood. "Sorry Hiashi-san. I don't care weather your Hyuuga or a simple no-name. If you are on my gennin squad then you will get the same amount of training as your teammates. If that is all you wished to discuss, I will take my leave now."

Naruto turned and began walking out of the room.

As he reached the doorknob however. "Wait."

The voice that reached his ears was still in the same monotone but underneath it Naruto could sense something…strange…desperation? No. Hyuuga Hiashi was not a man that would become desperate because of something as simple as this.

"Would you…at least consider it if I gave you the full reason?"

Naruto turned to Hiashi with an upraised eyebrow. He narrowed his eyes slightly and walked over to the seat he previously occupied.

"Allright, talk."

Hiashi sighed and leaned back in his chair tiredly. He suddenly looked much older than what he really was. "There is no real way to explain this unless I start from the beginning so bear with me."

He paused and gathered his thoughts before he continued.

"Thirteen years ago, just after Kyuubi's attack. The Hyuuga council and I got into a very messy dispute. (Naruto's adoption into the Hyuuga clan) Since that incident the council and I have been on shaky grounds at best. I suspect that they had constantly tried to find ways to remove me from the position of clan head. It stopped finally when my brother Hizashi was executed in my stead when cloud attempted to kidnap Hinata. Though I grieve still for my brother his death presented a window of opportunity for me to take down the council. Without that risk of them being able to remove me from power and therefore manipulate the clan through my brother who knew little of being a clan head at the time I was able to persecute them and succeeded in eliminate many of the corrupt council members."

He paused again.

"However, they soon found another leash for them to hold me back. Do you know what it was?"

Naruto, who had remained silent during the conversation, frowned thoughtfully before shaking his head.

"My family." Hiashy deadpanned. Naruto's eyes went wide with shock. 'The council threatened my family. I had informed the people of Konoha that my wife, Suzume had died due to complications involving Hanabi's birth but the truth is that she was attacked. Her injuries were very similar to those caused by the juuken style of fighting. You are the only non Hyuuga that knows of this. It was after this that I truly wished to destroy the council. However I knew that they would be waiting for me to do something such as that and so would have people waiting to kill my daughters."

"But the're your clan members. They're family."

Hiashi shook his head sorrowfully. "Unfortunately, with the promise of a removed curse seal many branch members would go to any lengths and others simply hate the main house. All they would have to do to get away would be an advanced henge. So I stayed my hand against the council.

Hiashi sighed again.

"I then attempted to focus on Hinata's training. I pushed the girl to her limits in an attempt to make her stronger. I taunted her and put her down in an attempt to get her to work harder. It was what my father did for myself and Hizashi. Unfortunately, my training method backfired. I completely crushed Hinata's self confidence and in doing so, I crushed her fighting spirit. After I realized it, it was already too late. So I grew even colder toward Hinata. I figured that if the council viewed me in that respect they might think I didn't care for my daughter and therefore…"

"They'd leave her be and focus on Hanabi." Naruto finished for him.

Hiashi nodded. "Hinata has grown ever since the chuunin exam. I have noticed that she is able to express herself more openly with people that are familiar to her. However, when I am near she reverts back to her old self. I will have to tread carefully in the future with regards to her. However, what I need for you to do is to assist me. While Hanabi's skill in the Hyuuga techniques is above average she must become more diverse in both ninjutsu and Taijutsu if she is to truly hold an advantage over any other Hyuuga."

Naruto sighed as he leaned back in the chair. "So that's where I come in." Naruto said mostly to himself.

Hiashi nodded. "Yes, I am not proficient in either field outside the Hyuuga techniques. So in short, Will you help me defend my family Uzumaki Naruto?"

The silence was deafening as it weighed down on the two occupants of the room.

Naruto finally spoke. "I…don't play favorites…" He paused.

"But I don't abandon my comrades either."

Naruto stood and looked down at the clan head. "I'll be giving the team some scrolls to practice in their home. Hanabi's scrolls will be…more advanced than her teammates."

With that said Naruto turned and walked out of the room.

Hiashi sighed in relief _'Thank you Uzumaki'_

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Well that's all for this chap. Hope you guy's enjoyed it.


	43. The Kazekage and the Mizukage

Well here's another chapter.

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Gaara, Temari, Kankuro, Haku and Zabuza stood at the gates of Konoha, infront of Naruto, Tenten, Sakura, Lee and Kakashi.

"Well I guess this is good bye for now." Naruto said in a somewhat sad tone, with an equally sad smile on his face.

"Yeah I guess so." Haku said to the blond.

Naruto turned and glared at Zabuza, "I don't know why you can't just leave him here. You strong enough to get back to Kiri on your own."

Zabuza shook his head. "Sorry brat, cant have the new Mizukage unguarded. The new council will have both my head and Haku's for even considering it." He answered with a shrug.

Naruto then turned back to Gaara. "Well what's your story?"

Gaara shrugged. "I am uncertain, but the council demanded that me and my siblings returned to Suna at once, so I imagine it's important.

Tenten sighed dejectedly, "That really sucks! I was hoping you'd be here for my Chuunin exam Hoodie."

Gaara's eye twitched in annoyance as Temari and Kankuro snickered behind him.

Tenten smiled brightly a second later. "Don't worry I'll be strong enough to get through that damn sand of yours next time you're here." She then turned to Kankuro. "Maybe you can baby-sit Oichi again Kankuro."

Immediately the face painted Suna-nin was in the fetal position a few yards away, with his head held between his knees, rocking back and forth, while muttering something that sounded an awful lot like 'demon children from the seventh layer of hell' but she couldn't be sure.

Lee then walked over to Haku with unholy flames blazing in his eyes. "HAKU-SAN, I SWEAR THAT WHEN YOU RETURN I WILL BE A WORTHY MATCH AND WIN SAKURA-CHAN'S HEART!!!"

Haku sweatdropped.

During one of his and Sakura's practice sessions Lee had seen them and immediately figured that Sakura was in danger so he rushed to her aid in his usual fashion.

Yelling and screaming at the top of his lungs.

Haku's reflexes took over and he had thrown senbon needles at the green clad ninja, hitting every point in his legs with deadly precision.

Since then, Lee hadn't shut up about the eternal rival thing. (After Sakura explained that they were just training of course.)

The rest of the group tuned out Lee's glorious flames of youth thing he had going on.

Sakura then walked up to Haku with a soft smile on her face. "You had better come back Haku. I still haven't finished my training." Haku smiled and nodded. "Don't worry Sakura, as soon as I'm done dropping off Zabuza so he can start his new duties as the Mizukage I'll come back."

Sakura nodded and then stood on her toes and kissed him on the cheek before the mist nin had a chance to figure out what happened. Haku blushed slightly and looked at Sakura with a bit of shock on his features.

Sakura giggled "You're cute when you blush."

Haku decided to invent a new shade of red at that point. Zabuza and Naruto, who had both been put in a momentary state of shock at what Sakura did both burst out laughing.

Zabuza then snaked his arm around Haku's neck, placing him in a strong headlock while simultaneously ruffling his silver streaked black hair with a big, shit eating grin on his face. "Don't worry Haku, I'll let you come back to your girlfriend. Hey copy ninja! If I'm ever back in Konoha, or if you're ever in Kiri I'll need a decent sparring partner."

Kakashi nodded absently without even taking his eyes off the book.

Zabuza and the still blushing Haku promptly vanished in a swirl of water.

"Damn bastard didn't even let us finish." Naruto muttered under his breath.

"We should follow his example…if we wish to reach Suna at the time frame the council gave us." Gaara said. He walked up to Naruto and extended his hand. Naruto gladly took it with a smile on his face. "See you soon brother." Naruto said with his grin still in place.

Gaara nodded, turned and walked away. The group waved at the retreating Suna nin. Just before they were out of earshot however Gaara turned his head back. "Tenten!" He called in his normal voice.

"Yeah?" She asked with a little surprise in her voice.

"I will…...try to make it back…to watch you in the exam."

Without another word Gaara turned and continued walking. Completely ignoring the looks of mild shock his siblings possessed.

Tenten's shock however, was soon replaced by the brightest smile anyone, even Lee, had ever seen on her delicate face.

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Several weeks later.

"I still do not understand why you did not promote us for the chuunin exam" Hanabi asked her blond haired sensei again rather heatedly. Even though one could barely notice it beneath her cold mask of indifference.

Naruto glanced at his white eyed student from the corner of his eyes.

Yoshinari chose that time to speak up. "Yeah Naruto-sensei, I thought we were ready!" He exclaimed, frowning up at him.

"My cousin Kiba took the exam when he was a rookie." Taka decided to add in.

_Well this isn't fair, it's three against one.' _The blond thought disdainfully. "You're not ready." He said, earning a mild glare from Hanabi. While at the same time thinking. _'You three deserve to keep your innocence for a bit longer'_ "Have you been practicing your scrolls by the way?"

The three gennin nodded.

"Good. Now let's keep going if you want to make it in time to get good seats in the stadium."

With that said he continued walking.

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"Enjoy the show."

"Wha? You're not staying with us Naruto-sensei?" Taka asked from the newly acquired seat in one of the middle rows of the stadium.

Naruto smiled warmly. "Sorry, but I'm up in the Kage booth since Jiraiya isn't here I'm next in line for Hokage guard duty." He waved happily. And vanished in a puff of smoke.

The gennin blinked a few times before shrugging and turning their attention back to the matches.

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Naruto calmly ascended the flight of stairs that led to the Kage's special booth.

When he finally got there he was surprised to see Zabuza standing next to a blue robed figure with a hat brandishing the Kanji for 'Water' infront.

He was also surprised to see Temari and Kankuro standing next to another robed figure with a straw hat with the Kanji for 'Wind'.

And he was even more surprised to see old Raikage Mori wearing his ceremonial Kage robes with the Kanji for lightning sitting next to them as well. With Katsu standing close by.

"Naruto how nice of you to finally join us." Said Tsunade as she turned to face him. Her eyes dancing with amusement.

"Yes, how nice of you to finally join us brother." Gaara said as he took off his hat, letting his spiky red hair show itself.

"I didn't think you'd be late." Said Haku as he too took off his hat and grinned at the blond.

"Ahh, young Naruto, how is my Ina then? I trust you have made her stay a pleasant one, seeing as how she asked for a permanent transfer here."

Naruto turned to the old man. With a smile. "Yeah Mori she's doing fine. She's at the academy giving her class. The teachers don't get a day off like the rest of us."

Mori nodded, smiling pleasantly. "Good, I will have to speak with her later then."

Naruto nodded, but then the full significance of the situation finally kicked in...

Gaara and Haku had become the Gondaime Kazekage and the Gondaime Mizukage respectively.

They had both become Kages before he did…

Fucking bastards.

Naruto shot a dark glare at his two oath brothers who were now grinning a sickeningly smug grin of triumph.

Naruto then turned his fury on Zabuza. "I thought you were gonna become the Mizukage."

Zabuza shrugged lazily. "Heh, I never said that it was gonna be me. You all just assumed that."

Naruto scowled some more before he let up and walked over to stand next to Tsunade.

Zabuza looked at the three teenagers with a smile.

'_You three brats…are gonna change the world.'_

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FINALLY!!!!!!!!

THE FILLER ARC IS DONE!

Now in the next chapter I can do a time skip and the story can finally start to pick up again!!!

Hehehehe……none of you will be able to see what I have planned for this. Mwahahahaha.

I will pay anyone who can guess one of the things that I'm gonna do correctly. (War with Oto doesn't count, it's a given)


	44. The silent goodbye

Hmmm, it's been a while since I last updated this story. Sorry for the long wait but I kinda got sidetracked with my other stories.

Anyway here's a new chap, enjoy.

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A young man sat on a stone next to a stream with a fishing rod held flimsily between his crossed legs. He was dressed in a simple white shirt and blue pants with ninja sandals and a straw hat that obscured his face from view.

He sat perfectly still as he absently read a simple book as he waited for the fish to come to him.

A twitch in his fishing rod sprang him to life as he pulled the line back with speed that could barely be seen. A large fish soared through the air straight towards him. He caught his squirming prey in one hand and took out a knife in the other. With a flick of his wrist the fish was skewered on the blade.

With a shrug the young man stood to his full height of about 6'2 and began walking toward a small fireplace at the edge of the small stream. He set down the fishing rod and with moved to put the fish on a stick to place it over the fire when his acute ears twitched as they caught a faint whizzing sound in the wind.

With incredible speed the man turned right on his heel and caught an arrow between his index and middle finger only inches away from his face. He side stepped a second arrow and grabbed his straw hat with two fingers in his other hand.

With a simple flick the straw hat flew like a frisbee to where the arrows we're coming from. Revealing the young man's golden hair and molten amber eyes along with a fanged smirk and three dark whisker like marks.

An arrow split the straw hat before it broke the tree line and a blur shot forward. The young blond smirked as he grabbed his attackers wrist and with a forceful jerk pulled him in closer. He then flipped over the person and pulled his arm behind him, holding him in place.

His attacker then tried to take out a kunai with his free hand and twisted painfully in an attempt to swipe at the blond but once again his wrist was caught and his arm was pinned behind his back.

"Damnit Naruto!" His attacker cried in a feminine voice. Naruto merely chuckled before he pulled her in a little closer. "You know? As much as I enjoy having you at my mercy like this. Cant you just greet me with a kiss every once and a while Ina?" He pouted a little at the end of his question as he released her. He then turned her around and held her close to himself.

Ina smiled as she removed the white porcelain panther mask of an Anbu with both the leaf and Kumo symbols etched onto it. "Well where's the fun in that?" She asked slyly.

Naruto put his finger to his chin as if he was considering her answer. "Hmmm, good point." He said as he smiled.

Ina leaned up and gave him a quick kiss before she pulled back. "Come on, Kin and Sasuke were looking for you." She said as she started to move away but a tail wrapping around her waist stopped her.

"Naruto!" She cried as she tried to wiggle out of his grasp. This of course failed horribly and only made Naruto tighten his tail around her waist as he dragged her back towards him.

"Aww, Ina we can be a little late cant we?" Naruto asked with that usual predatory smirk he had whenever he got in one of his moods.

Ina knew that look and she also knew that if she didn't do something quick they would be more than just a little late. "Not now Naruto I promised them I'd meet them in a few minutes.

Naruto pouted and loosened his grip. "Mou, I guess I'll just have to get you later."

Ina shivered a little at his tone but managed to hide it fairly well. She turned to him with a semi stern glare. "Come on Naruto I really don't want to be late."

Naruto smirked. He could see right through her but none the less he followed her back to Konoha.

As they trekked down the dirt path Naruto found himself reminiscing over the last six years. He was now one of Konoha's top jounin many people in the ninja force however considered him to be well above Kage level and they were right.

He now stood at the rank of four tail, well beyond any single Kage in both chakra capacity and jutsu attack strength. He remembered the day he would gain his next tail he had told Ina all about his heritage. A single tail could be explained but with the legend of the Bijuu Ina was bound to grow suspicious and he would have rather told her rather than her find out on her own and draw her own crazy conclusions.

If the reactions Sakura and Sasuke had surprised him Ina's had just about gave him a heart attack. She had laughed, openly laughed. At first he figured that she was just taking it as a joke but when she finally managed to speak he was beyond shocked.

_Flashback._

_Ina currently had her head thrown back in open laughter as Naruto stared at her with a twitching eyebrow of irritation. "I'm not joking Ina." Naruto deadpanned in his most serious voice._

_Ina halted her laughter and wiped a few tears of mirth from her eyes. She looked at Naruto with a sincere smile. "Hehe, I was wondering when you'd come clean."_

_Naruto's eyes widened by several margins. 'What?" He asked with shock seeping into his voice._

"_Hehe, I did some digging when I first saw you had a tail. By regulations all official bloodlines or all new bloodlines must be placed into record. After I arrived here I was curious as to what this new bloodline of yours might be so I went and did some research with the Hokage's permission. The only thing I found that came even remotely close to a tail was the legend of the bijuu. Seeing as how we in Kumo have our own Bijuu a girl called Yugito it really didn't take long to figure out that you had a demon sealed in you. I didn't expect for you to actually be related to the creature but either from that or from the theory I developed of you absorbing your tailed beast you're still a half demon so it really doesn't change much."_

_She finished her explanation and watched in amusement as Naruto imitated a fish rather well. _

_As soon as Naruto had managed to get his brain working again he asked the first thing that came to mind. "If you knew then why did you stay with me?"_

_Ina's smile dropped as she stared at Naruto rather sadly. "Should it have changed anything? Is there some kind of rule against loving you if the people know your secret?"_

_Naruto still looked shocked and Ina smiled a gentle smile to him. "You're still the same Person. You were a half demon when I met you and you're a half demon now. So there's really no difference."_

She stood and walked to him. She traced her fingers over his whisker marks with a gentle touch. "You're my hanyou."

_Unknown to both of them Zabuza sat at the top of the building with one leg dangling off the edge. He smirked to himself slightly as he spoke. "You picked a keeper there brat." He muttered before vanishing into a thick mist._

_Flashback end:_

His old gennin team which consisted of Yoshinari, Taka, and Hanabi were all chuunin now. He had held them back for as long as he could, not only because he wanted them to keep their innocence and not have to witness the true horrors of shinobi life, but because he could keep an eye on Hanabi.

As he had promised Hiashi he had trained Hanabi in taijutsu and ninjutsu that was completely opposed to the Hyuuga's normal Jukken fighting stile. He had managed to learn some from Gai in his quest for teaching her.

When Hanabi had managed to land a good amount of hits on her father in a spar Hiashi found the training to be doing it's job and had begun his movements against the Hyuuga council. It had become a full on silent war with them. No one outside the clan besides Naruto and Tsunade knew about it.

After a few months the council could see that it was in trouble and as expected they had sent assassins after Hanabi, since they all believed that Hiashi cared very little for Hinata. Not that many in the Hyuuga clan would be able to defeat her now. The girl, while still shy in normal circumstances would immediately transform and become a fierce warrior in battle something that gained her the nickname sleeping dragon from both friend and foe. She was also the fourth of the rookie nine to gain a Jounin rank. The firsts being Naruto, Sasuke and Neji.

Naruto had defeated the assassin fairly easily. He had relied on the Hyuuga clan techniques, something that was practically useless against Naruto. He had managed to keep it a secret from Hanabi, he did not want to make her paranoid of everyone in her clan.

The assassination attempts had continued for a few more months, with some of the ninjas being up to A rank missing nins.

Naruto had managed to keep all of them at bay however. All except for one.

_Flashback._

_Naruto currently stood in the middle of the training ground. His black clothes and white overcoat as immaculate as ever. He wasn't even breathing hard, whereas his students were covered in dirt and scratch marks. He had ben training each of them in weapons training. Yoshinari had chosen a Kurigasama (Sickle with chain attachment) Taka had chosen special gauntlets with two retractable blades that were almost a foot and a half long. Hanabi had decided to choose a simple wakizashi (Short sword)_

_They stood still for several seconds before Yoshinari, beeing ever the brash one struck first. With a quick swing of his weapon the sickle flew towards Naruto in an attempt to cut his face. _

_Without barely awknoledging the attack Naruto leaned forward and the blade past right over his head. _

_Taka moved in next and extended her claw like blades as her dog transformed into her exact copy, weapons and all. They rushed forward and once again tried a Gatsuuga on him. But Naruto just jumped up and avoided both master and partner. _

_As he was in mid air, Yoshinari tried to swing at him again. Naruto, being in mid air and not wanting to transform into his real form put his blade in the way and watched as the chain and the weapon wrapped around his blade._

_Yoshinari smirked and with a strong pull Naruto's sword left his grip and stabbed itself into the ground right infront of Yoshinari. Yoshinari looked back at his sensei with a large smile on his face but it quickly vanished as he saw Naruto's own smirk._

_He looked down and saw an explosive tag attached to the weapons hilt. "Ohh, shi" _

_BANG_

_The explosion was relatively small but it was enough to disorient the young gennin. _

_Naruto's smile widened slightly but it vanished when he finaly felt another presence directly behind him. _

_He turned around and found Hanabi coming at him with her wakizashi already moving in a little too close for comfort. Not wanting to risk wasting time on a kunai he caught the blade with his hand and with a quick jerk he pulled Hanabi towards him and slammed his fist right into her gut. Hanabi's air left her in a rush and she found herself gasping for breath._

_Naruto held onto her not wanting to risk injuring her by dropping her to the ground. _

_That however proved to be a mistake._

_Taka being directly behind Naruto did not see Hanabi and so she took the wide opening her sensei left her. _

_With a lunge and a loud cry of **Tsuuga** she launched her attack. _

_Naruto's head whipped around. He almost turned fully around but Hanabi's weight on him reminded him that if he did he would be injuring her. So he left his back exposed and could only hope this wouldn't hurt too much._

_When Taka hit she was shocked. As she watched her sensei soar down through the air she wondered why he hadn't moved, she half expected him to blow up in a puff of smoke, but alas it was not to be so. As Naruto slowly turned in mid air, Taka saw exactly why he hadn't moved. Hanabi was held protectively in his arms he used himself as a human shield. _

_She watched in horror as Naruto crashed into the earth. As soon as he felt hard gravel on his back he released Hanabi. He bounced once and his head hit a stone with a sickening crack sound._

_His world faded into darkness._

_He awoke again only to find Taka and Yoshinari unconscious and Hanabi backing away from a bloodied body with her sword stabbed into the man's throat. She turned and emptied her stomach contents over the forest floor._

_Naruto immediately realized what had happened. He silently listened to the strong heartbeats of each of his students and smelt very little of their blood in the area. He stood and held a tree for support he was a little dizzy from his impact with the stone but he slowly walked towards his frightened student. _

_As he approached her she heard him coming and she turned on her heel with a kunai already in her hand. She was shaking badly and her eyes were terrified. As she saw him she immediately dropped her kunai and fell to her knees. _

_Naruto silently knelt down and hugged her._

_Hanabi clung to Naruto for dear life, almost as if she was afraid he was going to fade away. Naruto held her and said nothing. There was nothing to say. It was her first kill, it would always be scary and it would always stay with you. _

_This was the fate of a shinobi. There was no other way to put it._

_He never did find out just what happened to Hanabi after her teammates were knocked unconscious and he most likely never will._

_Flashback end:_

After that incident he decided that it was best for them to attend the chuunin exam. They needed experience if they were going to survive in this chaotic world of the shinobi and one could only learn so much from a sensei. Eventually you got used to his tactics and strategies and your growth would be stunted. They had no means reached that with him but it was good that they see versatility on the field.

He was also thankful that the assassins had stopped after that. It may have been because Arashi had left the hospital with his eyes ablaze with hidden fury and the byakuugan flaring.

Taka's mother a woman named Kitcho had been quite unnerving during her stay in the hospital. The woman would not stop staring at him. It wasn't a glare filled with malice but something entirely different, almost as if she was sizing him up. It unnerved him.

He did however stare right back at her with the silent question of 'Do you have a problem with me?' practically dancing infront of them in bold letters.

The tension was broken however as Inuzuka Tsume stepped into the room. Naruto soon left to go see Yoshinari.

Gaara and Haku shortly after being declared the Gondaime Kazekage and Gondaime Mizukage, respectively declared war on sound. Along with Konoha and their forces sound was near the brink of destruction Orochimaru merely could not fight the three powers on his own and no nation wished to take the first step to join him. With Kumo ready to jump in and aid Konoha at a moments notice Iwa would be foolish to take on four of the five major villages with just the miniscule forces of sound as it's support.

Kusa and Ame were also itching to join Oto but refused to do so unless Iwa joined first.

Many people, specifically in the shinobi community had begun revising their previous opinions on the blond since it was rumored that he was the one who created all of the alliances they currently held.

Mori, Ina's grandfather had also stepped down from his position as Sandaime Raikage and named Katsu, Ina's brother as the Yondaime Raikage. Katsu had also gotten married to a woman named Kana. Ina had been so happy when she received the news she had immediately packed everything and took a one week leave to head to Kumo while dragging Naruto with her of course. Tsunade had tried to refuse but with a silent dark glare she had reconsidered and allowed Naruto to leave.

Tenten and Sakura had, unsurprisingly, become the envoys to facilitate negotiations with Suna and Kiri respectively.

Gaara would silently curse Naruto every time he heard that blasted name hoodie.

Sasuke and Kin, no matter how much they tried to deny it to others and themselves had growing feelings for eachother. They were hardly ever seen apart for Christ sake.

Naruto silently looked u at the clear sky. Yes, things were certainly going well.

Then why did he feel like everything was about to go down hill fast

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As Naruto and Ina began to see the gates of Konoha an ANBU suddenly leapt infront of them. "Naruto-san, Ina-hime, your presence is required in the Hokage tower immediately."

Naruto and Ina looked at eachother with worried glances before nodding and rushing off to the tower.

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Ina and Naruto jumped through the balcony door and landed infront of Tsunade's desk with practiced ease.

"Good, you're both here." Tsunade said as she stood up. She looked to Ina. "Ina, I'm afraid I have some bad news." She said as she looked at the young girl with sadness in her eyes. Ina's heart dropped into her stomach, she did not like that look.

Tsunade sighed. "Your grandfather, has fallen gravely ill with an unknown illness. The medics from Kumo have sent me a blood sample to see if I can find a cure. But at the rate he is falling I have no idea if he will last for more than a few days."

Ina's heart skipped a beat and she slowly started to shake as she held in her emotions.

Tsunade looked at her sadly. "Your brother Katsu has requested that you return to Kumo as soon as possible. Just incase……"

Naruto stepped towards Ina and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. She absently grabbed his hand and held it within her own. Naruto then looked to Tsunade. "I request permission to go with her."

Tsunade sighed again. "I am sorry, Naruto but…I must deny your request."

Naruto's eyes flashed red for a brief moment before they returned to their normal amber Tsunade hesitated for a brief moment before she hastily continued. "I know this doesn't particularly please you but...there are some very delicate situations we need your presence here to deal with."

Naruto was about to say something else when Ina squeezed his hand reassuringly. She looked up and smiled at him. "She's right Naruto. I don't like it, but if I have to go without you I'll go."

Naruto still looked hesitant but a firm nod and a reassuring smile from Ina he steped back. "I'm going to go pack." Ina said before hastily rushing out the balcony.

Naruto watched her go with a sad look on his face. He then grew cold as he turned to Tsunade. "What's this about?"

Tsunade sighed. "Naruto…there's no real delicate way to put this so I'm going to be blunt about this." She paused slightly as she took a deep breath. "We need a third sannin."

Naruto was floored by that statement. "Excuse me?"

Tsunade sighed. "Despite the fact that we have a complete advantage in this war against Oto the people are becoming complacent with how long its dragging out. I, as you know am the Hokage, Jiraiya is in charge of our spy network. We need another sannin, one to command our forces. As the Hokage I could do it but if I left then there would be no one to protect the homefront."

Naruto blinked several times. 'Well I'd like to but…the village council will never accept this and not only that there are still people who hate me here. You might cause a civil war."

Tsunade leaned forward on her desk. "I've seen the risks for both actions. And I believe with a commander as strong as you and as wise as your grandfather you can rally our shinobi and end this war quickly. Remember, Orochimaru isn't dead yet and numbers do not decide wars. Morale, preparation, the absence of disease and the availability of supplies do."

Naruto nodded "But still if we cannot get this past the council it wont work."

Tsunade nodded and smirked. "You didn't really think that gennin team I gave you was to just keep you in the village did you?"

Naruto just looked confused.

Tsunade sighed in exasperation. "Think Naruto. I gave you a team with two of the most prominent clans in Konoha and another lesser clan. All three of your gennin's parents are on the council. You already have Hiashi's support along with Tsume's and since Sasuke is now of age he is the Uchiha clan head. Also with a position on the council. With three major clan heads backing you others will soon follow. I'm almost certain the Aburame's, Nara's, Akamichi's and Yamanakas will support you. That is now most of the major clans in Konoha at your back. The old geezers would be fools to oppose that. They will not only lose credibility but they might even lose the loyalty of many of their ninja and even the support of the people."

Naruto nodded. "Are you sure Tsunade? This is a very big risk."

Tsunade nodded. "Yeah, yeah, now go. Your girlfriend needs you right now."

Naruto nodded before leaping out the balcony.

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Time skip.

Naruto stood at the gates of Konoha. Ina stood infront of him with her equipment and ANBU uniform all in place. The porcelain mask hung behind her head, allowing him to see her face.

He moved forward and embraced her gently with his head resting on hers. She slowly wrapped her arms loosely around his waist and buried her face into his chest. He knew she was hurting and it killed him inside to not be able to do anything. Ina and her grandfather were very close and just the thought of loosing him affected her greatly but she was nothing if not stubborn. She would not cry. She refused to do so. Her grandfather had always taught her to be strong and crying would just dishonor him.

"Be careful." Naruto whispered.

Ina absently nodded. "I'll be fine." She whispered back.

They kissed each other slowly. It was a soft gentle kiss. Almost as if they were afraid the other would vanish. As they pulled away they simply stared into each others eyes.

Sea blue met molten gold.

They simply looked at eachother for a few moments before Ina silently pulled away.

As she silently walked away Naruto could not stop the fear that welled up in his heart at the sight of her leaving.

Why?

He didn't understand.

But the fear gripped his heart and would not leave him. Even after her form had long disappeared over the falling leaves

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Hmm, another chap. Hope you enjoyed it.


	45. Gaining the title

Hmmm, another chapter.

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Naruto stood before the entrance of the elder shinobi council. Jiraiya stood at his side. He hadn't really changed much in the six years that had passed. Just a few more wrinkles that were barely noticeable unless you looked really really close.

Naruto stood tall and proud next to his former mentor.

"Jiraiya." Naruto called to his former sensei as he turned to him. "I was still in shock when they told me so I didn't really ask much but why exactly do you need three sannin?"

Jiraiya turned to look at him with a serious expression on his face. "Boy tell me what do you see in Suna and Kiri as our allies now that they have entered this war with us?"

Naruto was confused by this. "I'm not sure what you mean."

"Let me explain." He says as he turns fully to face the blond. "Take Suna for example. Gaara is the Kazekage, he handles the inner workings of the village and keeps everything in order and manages supplies, troop distribution and is basically the mind telling the legs and arms how to move. Now his brother Kankuro, because of his expertise in puppet using and chakra control and all around infiltration he is incharge of recon, intelligence and all around spying. His sister being more battle oriented as a fan user is the commander of his forces. So while he is moving the hand, they're moving the fingers so it ca work properly."

He paused for a moment to catch his breath.

"The same thing works with Kiri. Haku is the Mizukage. Kotoro or the one called the Blue Dragon of Kiri is in charge of intelligence and Zabuza is the commander leading the forces."

Naruto nodded. "I see. But… why didn't one of the three sannin take the title of Hokage when you were still three?"

Jiraiya shrugged. "Beats me."

Naruto narrowed his eyes. He knew that Jiraiya had an answer. It was clear in his scent he was lying.

Still before he could pressure him the door opened.

"Let's go."

Jiraiya nodded to him as they both walked through the doors.

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As soon as he entered his ears were greeted by the voice of one of the elders. "Tsunade-sama, what is the meaning of allowing this demon filth enter this great chamber?"

Tsunade was about to answer but Naruto beat her to it.

"Careful you old bag of bones. I am highly irritated right now and you might very well break the law by speaking of that in here." His words were laced with ice as each cold word bit through the silence of the room.

The elder paled when he realized that indeed, Uchiha Sasuke sat a few seats above from him and speaking of such a thing would definitely not be in the best interest of his health while he was here.

Tsunade narrowed her eyes and made a mental note to send a present to that man by ANBU delivery system. She then stopped the thoughts in her head and spoke. "Thank you Naruto. Now, Jiraiya and I have an announcement to make."

Naruto briefly considered yelling out. 'YOUR GETTING MARRIED?' But he managed to resist the urge and merely laughed in his own mind.

Everyone in the room quieted as both Sannins stood. The two looked at eachother and silently nodded. Tsunade took a deep breath and mentally prepared herself. "We, Jiraiya and Tsunade of the hidden leaf sannin. Hereby name Uzumaki Naruto as the third sannin."

Silence for three seconds before.

"WHAT!?"

"ABSOLUTELY NOT!"

"THIS IS LUDICROUS!!!"

"IT IS A DISCRACE!"

"TSUNADE-HIME, JIRAIYA-SAMA, THIS IS MADNESS!"

"WE CANNOT GIVE THE TITTLE OF SANNIN TO THAT ABOMINATION!"

The list went on and Jiraiya and Tsunade's anger continued to increase with each passing word.

Naruto however, the one who by all intents and purposes should be furious merely stared at them with cold indifference.

Hiashi found it quite admirable how he was able to stand against such animosity with sheer stubbornness and strength of will. He was proving himself far more powerful than the foolish council. Hiashi simply knew that the boy would succeed in this.

'_After all' _He silently mused._ 'No matter how much the wind blows, the mountain will not bow to it' _

After several minutes of foolish yelling Tsunade finally had enough. "SILENCE!" Her voice boomed through the chamber over all others and immediately everyone quieted. "This is what Jiraiya and I have decided upon. Who grants their support for Uzumaki Naruto's position to Sannin."

Almost immediately Hiashi stood, eliciting several gasps from the stunned occupants. He watched Naruto with expressionless eyes and gave a nod of approval to all three. Naruto silently nodded back and continued to wait.

Sasuke, being at one of the topmost rows stood. He knew since his gennin days that Naruto was a hanyou. He also knew that not many in Konoha besides himself Tsunade, Sakura and Jiraiya knew about that. So he was definitely surprised that simply being a vessel to the Kyuubi would bring such great, illogical, hatred. He felt his respect for the blond rise up yet another notch and another drop for his village.

As many people saw both they Hyuuga and Uchiha clan heads stand they sputtered in disbelief. How? Why? This was madness! Could they not see that this was merely a monster?

Aburame Shibi, beeing a good friend of both Hiashi and the fourth stood as well. He was not illogical. He knew of Naruto's secret of being a Hanyou. The subtle change of his scent from Human to demon every few minutes was definitely something that very,very few would be able to pick up on. He himself had caught it only by accident. He was alarmed at first that the Kyuubi might be getting free but he had not voiced his fears.

Instead he had silently kept an eye on Naruto using his Kikaitchu. The bugs indicated very little to no hostility in his scent. So the Aburame had Hypothesized that the seal was doing as it was said to have been intended. To slowly merge both Naruto's and Kyuubi's chakra.

If that was the case then the Aburame would much rather be on his good side and on the side of his good conscience. So he silently stood.

Yoshinari's father, a calm stoic man that had seen many things in his lifetime, as well as the fate of many who were considered monsters for reasons beyond their control was sympathetic to Naruto. He also knew that he was strong. Yoshinari had nearly beaten him one time during one of their spars and the boy constantly said thathe couldn't even land a hit on the blond with his teammates helping him.

He also believed he owed a debt to the young blond. He was almost always on mission, trying to support his family and keep the bills paid and so he had very little time to help Yoshinari. With Naruto the boy had become very strong and he could rest easy knowing his son wouldn't get killed on his first C or B rank mission.

The InoShikaCho trio looked at each other and shrugged with their shoulders. They stood up as well. They never really had any personal history with the blond just the occasional tales from their children and one time that Genma and Anko had gone on a mission with him.

He had saved their lives and had also healed them after taking on several Anbu while he himself was injured very badly. So he had both the skills and determination to protect Konoha that any Sannin should have. And that was enough in their eyes.

The ones on the council who were against Naruto paled. With those three supporting him they only needed one more vote to make Naruto the official third sannin.

Naruto, Jiraiya and Tsunade turned their gazes to where the Inuzuka clan head should be.

However the Inuzuka clan head, Inuzuka Tsume, was not in her seat. In her place however was one Inuzuka Kitcho. Tsume had injured herself the other day and was in no condition to come and so she had allowed Kitcho to take her place.

As the others in the room all turned their gazes onto her, Kitcho's mind was swirling with different thoughts. She was torn in her decision as she silently reviewed her memories during the last six years.

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_Flashback: Six years ago_

'_Taka, could you come in here please.' Kitcho called to her young daughter as she walked into the house. All day she had barely managed to concentrate on her mission knowing that her daughter was taking her gennin exam with…with…him. _

_She could not bring herself to acknowledge him, yet. But she could not deny Tsume's logic either. Just a mere two year difference and the Yondaime could have very well picked Taka to hold the beast._

_So she would give him the benefit of the doubt…for now._

_Taka, entered the room at a very tired and weary pace. She looked as if she was dead on her feet. Kitcho noticed this and immediately started to worry. She made a beeline for her daughter and knelt infront of her, grasping her shoulders slightly. "Are you alright? What happened?"_

_Taka slowly raised her hand with an extended finger. "Naruto-sensei is a sadistic bastard."Taka muttered as she swayed sleepily on her feet._

_Kitcho narrowed her eyes as she stabilized her exhausted daughter. She resisted the overwhelming urge to sniff the demon container out and get into an all out brawl. 'Calm down, it could be any number of reasons she is saying that. I always thought that crazy Ibiki was a sadistic bastard when he was my sensei so its no big deal.' She gave a small shudder as she remembered her academy days with Ibiki as her sensei._

_(This is actually true, Ibiki was a chuunin in the academy when Tsunade, Jiraiya and Orochimaru were still trying to graduate.)_

"_Taka." She began seriously. "Tell me everything that happened during your gennin exam."_

_Taka groaned. All she wanted was to go upstairs and get to bed. Why was her mom so interested in this. Still, she knew that she had better get it over with._

_At the end of the tale Kitcho's mouth hung open in complete and utter disbelief at the gennin test the Uzumaki boy had the audacity to pull._

"_Mom, can I go rest now?" Taka practically begged. Her feet were sore here muscles protested against her movements and her consciousness was cursing her to the ninth level of hell for forcing it to remain there._

_Kitcho absently nodded and Taka practically crawled to her room._

_She thought long and hard over the Gennin test Taka had taken. Her first thought was pure outrage that he had allowed a mist nin, The demon of the hidden mist no less to practically beat her daughter and the other two gennin. But the other part was strangely appreciative. Indeed it was a good test, one that she had heard was used by the Yondaime himself. But with his modification it also allowed the gennins to think they were experiencing a real life scenario. Therefore when the real life scenario came they were less likely to freeze up in fear._

_So even though it might be a little harsh she found herself strangely grateful for it._

'_Maybe I really was wrong about you' She thought to herself as she walked away._

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_It was several months later after Kitcho had seen her daughter continually return to the Inuzuka residence that she decided to find out exactly what the hell the young Uzumaki was doing to her daughter and his gennin team._

_She silently followed her daughter as she made her way to the training ground while masking her presence. She also made sure to stay downwind so her daughter wouldn't catch her scent._

_As they reached the forests she took to the tree tops. When Taka had finally made it to where her teammates were it took Naruto another hour and a half to get there. _

"_Hi guys, sorry I was late but a perverted old man was spying on females in the hotspring and they asked me to get rid of him while being hunted by S class criminals!"_

_Well it wasn't a complete lie, he was being hunted by S class criminals and he had just finished beating Jiraiya into a blood miserable smoking charred pulp since Ina had told him the other night that she thought she had heard some perverted giggling while she was in the hot springs. _

_And the only real reason he was late was because he had sensed Kitcho, though she did not know that. He had spied on her and waited to see if she had any hostile intention. When the wind carried her scent to him he immediately realized this woman was Taka's mother. So he silently shrugged it off and appeared before his team to begin their exercise._

_Kitcho watched with interest as the exercise began. But what started as interest soon turned into frustration as she watched when the gennin became exhausted he would still push them as though they had started five minutes ago. After a few more minutes she was about to jump down when something she saw in Naruto's eyes made her stop._

_It wasn't the similar cold indifference that she had seen up to now. It wasn't anger or disappointment. It wasn't even pride. _

_No, it was something much more. She couldn't even place it into words. But if she had to compare it to anything. It was just like the look her late husband had given Taka when he first saw her. She couldn't describe it and it halted her in her tracks._

_So she silently left to ponder her thoughts._

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_It wasn't until several years later that the blond would plague her mind again._

_She stood over her daughter's hospital bed. Tsume had left shortly after and the blond boy had left even sooner than that._

_Taka groaned suddenly and her eyes fluttered open. "Urghh, what happened?" She groaned as she tried to sit up._

_Kitcho was at her side in an instant. She softly pressed her hand on Taka's chest to stop her from sitting. "Shhh, you'll be fine, just rest for now."  
_

_Taka looked to her mother in slight confusion. "Mom?" Her confused eyes quickly gained a look of panic. "Mom! Where's Hanabi-chan and Yoshinari? What happened to Naruto-sensei!? Where's the…"_

"_Calm down!" Taka said as she kneeled to be at eye level with the young girl. "Everything is fine. Now get some rest."  
_

_But to her surprise her young daughter began to cry. No scratch that. She was downright hysterical. She buried her face into her hands and continued to repeat that it was all her fault._

_Her motherly instincts took over and she began comforting her daughter. Whispering soothing nothings into her ear. But she was still confused as to what she kept saying was her fault._

_When her hysterics settled down into hiccups and dry sobs she slowly pushed her away. "Taka, I want you to tell me everything that happened?"_

_Taka silently nodded before she began her tale of the weapons training and how it had lead to Naruto's unconsciousness to the attack itself._

_As soon as she was done she fell into the blissful darkness of sleep. Leaving Kitcho to silently ponder her thoughts._

_She was surprised once again by the blond. She had figured he had gotten careless and his students were forced to pay the price for it. But again he defied all of her previous assumptions of him._

_He had actually risked great injury, even death to protect Hanabi. _

_She did not believe that he would have been capable of such sacrifice. She had once again underestimated him._

_Demons, did not show concern, they did not show compassion, they did not show love, and they most certainly did not sacrifice their safety for the sake of others._

_Could she have been wrong all this time? Had she truly been torturing an innocent his whole life? Could she and everyone else have truly been so blind by fear, prejudice, and hate to not see him for the kind compassionate young man he was?_

_The answer was yes. _

_And as it dawned on her, her heart clenched in guilt and she felt the sting of tears beneath her eyelids._

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Kitcho was forcefully brought out of her reminiscing by the sound of a very smug elder. "Well Tsunade-sama, it appears as though we hold the majority. Uzumaki Naruto will not be given the title of Sannin." One could practically feel the mocking victorious smirk the man held on his face as he stared down with pure unbidden smugness at her.

Kitcho however brought that to a swift halt as she stood. "The Inuzuka clan supports Uzumaki Naruto's claim to the title of sannin."

The elders against Naruto were all immediately outraged and cried out their fevering protests.

Tsunade however smirked as she yelled again. "SILENCE!" Everyone immediately quieted and she continued. "By vote, it has been decided. Uzumaki Naruto is now a Sannin of the hidden leaf village. By decree he will take up his rightful position as acting commander of Konoha's military force, only answering to me should the need arise."

Even more cries of outrage but yet again Tsunade silenced them. "This council meeting is adjourned and I will hear no more of your un-based and utterly foolish concerns."

They grumbled but silently walked out of the office. Hiashi tossed a light smirk as he walked out as did Sasuke.

Jiraiya patted Naruto on the back. "Not bad brat! Come on, I'll take you for some Sake."

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"Allright Eo-sennin, what do you want? You never invite me for anything, much less pay for anything."

Jiraiya grumbled as he took a swig. They were seated in a private room in the sake house. With top of the line Sake between them how could he not notice something was up?

Jiraiya sighed. "I'll get right to the point brat. My sources are picking up movement again from the Akatsuki."

Naruto's eyebrows went up a little. "So their back? I thought they disbanded. We haven't heard anything from them in the last six years. What are they planning?"

Jiraiya shrugged. "Beats me. I just wanted to warn you and your brother Gaara. Keep your eyes and ears open for any rumors."

Naruto nodded as he stood. "Thanks, Ero-seenin"

"Sure thing brat."

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Well a filler chapter mostly but we all need those every now and then eh?


	46. Ina's peril

Hmmm, another chapter for you this is.

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Ina sighed tiredly as she walked up the stairs that led to the Raikage's estate. She had been attending to Mori for a few weeks now and he showed absolutely no sign of improvement.

It wasn't that he was hooked up to tubes or bedridden. He was just weak. He couldn't even raise his chakra levels to match that of a chuunin and for one who was the Sandaime Raikage just six years ago, arguably the strongest of the Raikage's to date, it was a truly humbling experience.

Ina had always seen her grandfather as an unbreakable pillar of strength and it scared her to see him so vulnerable. It wasn't right in her eyes.

But still, despite his worsening condition he always managed to smile that same heartwarming smile when she arrived. He never lost his temper, he didn't get angry, he would just smile as if everything was perfectly all right. It was both admirable and infuriating.

She sighed again and opened the door to the estate. "Grandpa!" She called as she walked in.

"Upstairs my dear." He calls with his usual cheer. Ina gritted her teeth in annoyance. He shouldn't climb stairs in his condition, it's too dangerous.

She looked around the second floor before she found him on the balcony with his six foot walking stick resting comfortably on his shoulder. In the light of the setting sun his white robes lined with gold seemed to shine and sparkle in the light. His grey hair and eard gave him a wizened ancient look that fit him perfectly.

His skin had a few more wrinkles, his teeth were a bit more yellow. His hands twitched every now and then in a way that would resemble an involuntary trembling. He looked frail, nothing like the imposing Raikage that he was six years ago.

He turned to her and smiled again. "Ina, my dear. How was your day?"

Ina sighed again. It was just so difficult to stay angry with him. "My day was good but you shouldn't be out of bed grandpa, its not good for your health and you could have an accident."

His smile became slightly warmer. He turned to continue looking out the balcony. "Come Ina, sit with me." He said as he gestured to the seat.

Ina unclasped her bow from her back and placed it against the wall before sitting down next to the old Raikage. They stayed in a comfortable silence as they watched the sun set.

"I have missed your presence in these halls the past six years dear granddaughter." He spoke suddenly, yet the kindness in his voice never left.

Ina smiled as she turned to him. "I've missed you too."

Mori took a deep breah and closed his eyes. "Yet you are happy with where you are now." He declared as he turned to her with a small yet sad smile.

Ina's smile also became rather bittersweet. "Yes, yes I am happy."

Mori took her hand in his. "I am glad. When I first saw that boy, I knew there was something good about him. You choose well."

Ina turned to him with a skeptical expression. "Ohh, my decision was it? I specifically remember you and Katsu meddling some with that."

Mori turned to her with a raised eyebrow before he chuckled softly. "I didn't think you would have realized it."

"I didn't until I thought it over. But when I finally realized it I didn't mind Naruto living with me. So I suppose I should thank you."

Mri chuckled again. "You always were the more intelligent one between you and Katsu. I suppose I should have been more cautious."

They once again fell into a comfortable silence.

Ina suddenly stood and walked over to Mori. "Come on, grandpa. Let's get you back to bed."

Mori sighed. "No Ina, leave me be."

"But" She began to protest but was suddenly cut off.

"It is a beautiful scenery is it not?"

Ina stopped and turned to gaze out of the balcony. The sun cast an eretheral glow on the surface of the clouds since the high mountains of Kumo rose slightly above them. The stone edges of the cliffs were also peppered with violet vine flowers and a flowing stream that ran through the garden below them all came together to form what could only be described as a breathtaking scenery.

Ina slowly nodded her head. "Yeah, it is."

Mori smiled. "The perfect place to end my story."

Ina straightened and whipped her head around to face the still smiling old man. "Wh-what do you mean?" Her voice had a soft tremble in it, that did not go unnoticed.

Mori beckoned her over. When she was finally near him she slowly knelt and Mori wrapped her in a one arm embrace. "Ina…my little Ina. My time is almost done. I will soon leave this world. I can feel it."

Ina slowly shook her head and fought back the tears that threatened to spill from her eyes. "No, your fine. Your probably just tired. Don't worry, Tsunade-sama will find the cure and you'll be cured, you'll live until you're a hundred."

Mori chuckled softly. "Now now, my dear. I have lived a full and long life. It is my time to go my dear."

Ina choked back a sob and hugged him a bit tighter. "I don't want you to go. I want you to stay with me."

Mori smiled softly and ran his hand through her black silky hair. "Ina…I have watched you grow from a little girl into a beautiful young woman." He paused as he hooked a finger to her chin and made her look up at him. "I watched as you threw your first kunai. I watched as you learned your first Taijutsu. I watched when you finally graduated. I watched when you first took a bow in your hands. I watched when you became a chuunin and later when you became a jounin. You have made me so very proud. But now I can no longer watch. It is my time. Know that I will always love you and know that you have my blessing and my love no matter what you do."

Ina's tears fell and she slowly buried her face into the old Kages chest as she sobbed.

Mori's peaceful smile never left his face as he slowly ran his hands through her hair before he drew one last shaky breath and his hand fell limply at his side.

Katsu watched his sister sob against the lifeless form of their grandfather with a sad expression. He had his goodbye earlier. He slowly turned and walked away to leave his sister to herself for the time being. Now was the time for her to mourn.

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Ina sobs lessened to dry hiccups as she slowly stood and moved to her bow to grab it and report Mori's passing to Katsu so he could arrange his funeral.

Her hand was a mere inch away from her weapon of choice when her ears picked up the unmistakable sound of a Kunai whizzing through the air. She swiftly took out her own kunai and turned on her heel. With a quick block she grabbed her weapon and leapt off her balcony.

As she landed on the ground she looked at each of her attackers. There were five of them. Each had a sound headband, one was a girl with pink hair and a flute. Another was a really fat sound ninja. The one who tossed the Kunai was a white haired ninja with bones coming out of his feet, acting as extensions for him to reach the balcony. Another had four arms and the last was a guy wearing purple lipstick and with his hair covering one eye.

Ina took an arrow and lined it with her bow. "Who are you, what are you doing here?"

The girl with pink hair snorted. "I cant believe Orochimaru-sama asked us to capture this bitch."

The fat one spoke up this time. "Tayuya-chan you shouldn't curse!"

"Shut up, fat ass!" She snarled as she took a fighting stance.

The white haired bone user retracted the bones back into his feet, making Ina wince slightly despite her effort to cover it up. "Both of you quiet. Ina-san, we are the sound five, we have been sent to capture you. It would be in your best interest to come with us peacefully." Kimimaro spoke in his usual monotone drawl.

Ina pulled back her bow and aimed it at the sound ninja's head. "No thanks!" She let the arrow fly with lightning chakra cackling around the tip.

Kimimaro swiftly drew his bone sword and deflected the arrow. However he narrowed his eyes in slight anger as he saw a large crack on the bone that was not there before. "Sakon, Kidomaru, Tayuya, Jiroubu, formation seven now!" He barked and in an instant all of the sound five disappeared in a blur with Ina vanishing shortly afterwards.

Tayuya was the first to stop and started doing handseals. **"Kuchiose no jutsu!!" **She cried and in an instant her three Oni appeared to assist her. She smirked as she played a tune and the three charged toward the Kumo bow mistress.

Ina for her credit didn't even flinch. When the first Oni with an axe reached her and attempted to crush her by bringing the axe down on her petite form she swiftly sidestepped and ran along the weapons hilt and jumped up with a crushing knee to the Oni's nose. The beast reeled back and seemed like it was going to fall on its back.

Ina drew two more arrows and as the beast fell back she shot the two arrows right into the creatures eyes. It gave a roar of pain before it vanished in a puff of smoke.

Ina turned to her right and saw a large boulder hurdling towards her, courtesy of Jiroubu. She then turned to look at another oni, this one using a club, getting ready to swing it like a bat.

With a roll under the Oni's legs she got behind him and with a swift turn of her heel she kicked the creatures back while simultaneously using him as a platform to jump off of.

The creature stumbled forward with the unexpected hit and right into the path of Jiroubu's boulder. With a resounding smack the Oni was crushed beneath the boulders weightand vanished in a puff of smoke.

Ina on the other hand had used the Oni's back as a platform and did a back flip right over the head of the last Oni. She lined her bow with the top of the creatures skull and with the whipping sound of a bowstring an arrow lodged itself directly in the creatures skull and it vanished in a puff of smoke.

"Fuck!" Tayuya snarled as she worked to raise her flute to cast a genjutsu. But Ina was faster as she landed on the ground she tossed a kunai at the pink haired musician, forcing her to step back with her left foot to dodge. However in doing so her right arm was over extended along with her flute. Ina took the opening as she rushed to the sound user and with the bladed edge of her bow Tayuya's flute was sliced in half.

With a snarl of rage Tayuya moved to kick Ina in the stomach.

Ina dropped her bow and caught it with her right foot and used her now free hands to catch Tayuya's kick while using chakra to stick to the ground. With a twist she broke Tayuya's ankle and tossed her aside.

With a quick movement she used her leg to toss her bow up and turned around to the other four fighters. She caught the bow in her left hand and took in three arrows with her right. She pulled all three back and shot at Sakon, Kidomaru and Jiroubu.

The arrows cackled with lightning chakra. Kidomaru shot out his webbing from his mouth and made a dense netting. Jiroubu slammed his hands on the ground and a earth wall came infront of him. Sakon tossed two kunais at the arrow approaching him.

However all three were surprised when Ina's arrows drilled through the earth shield, sliced through the webbing and split the two kunai without even slowing down. Each of the sound nins barely had enough time to get away.

Ina did a swift backwards cartwheel to avoid a bone sword that Kimimaro swung to the back of her knees. She landed and tried a sweep kick on the white haired sound nin. Kimimaro leapt up and moved to kick her in the face. Ina rolled back to avoid the kick and got to a kneeling position with an arrow already lined in her bowstring fully charged with her lightning chakra.

She shot aiming for Kimimaro's head.

Kimimaro placed his sword in the way again but this time the lightning arrow completely shattered the weapon. However with the added resistance the projectile changed course and instead of hitting Kimimaro in the face it dug straight into his thigh, not even his bone armor could stop the weapon from piercing his skin.

He gritted his teeth against the pain and looked up as a shadow covered him. He saw her gazing down at him with another arrow ready. He wouldn't be able to avoid it.

As she prepared to shoot a fist raised itself from the earth and slammed right into her side, eliciting a cry of pain as a sickening crack sound echoed through the garden.

She slammed into one of the nearby rock faces. As she struggled to stand she looked over to her approaching attackers.

Kimimaro looked over at Jiroubu and nodded in thanks. Sakon slowly walked up to Ina. When he reached her however she smirked rather evilly and he backed up She suddenly vanished in a puff of smoke and a scroll took her place. It suddenly exploded sending hundreds of Kunai in every direction. Sakon screamed in pain as dozens of the kunai tore through him. He gave one final cry of pain as he fell back, dead.

"SAKON!" Kidomaru cried in anger.

Ina appeared where her scroll exploded. Her arm was broken and she had blood dribbling down the corner of her mouth but she was smirking none the less.

Kidomaru snarled and turned to his level two form and rushed at her. "You bitch!"

Ina was a little disturbed by the transformation but swiftly formed a few one handed seals and slammed her palm on the ground.

The kunai that had flown in every direction suddenly trembled slightly and a stream of lightning formed between the kunai and Ina's hand making a full on lightning chakra net the entire sound five were caught in.

Ina pumped all of the chakra in her system into the jutsu. She watched with satisfaction as each of the sound five fell to the ground screaming and writhing in pain. Just before she could finish however a sharp hit at the back of her neck enveloped her world in darkness.

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The sound five, or the sound four now that Sakon was dead, slowly rose as spasms of pain tore through their bodies. They looked up and found the pale form of the snake Sannin staring down at all of them with contempt. "Pathetic." He spat. "To think that the five of you nearly fell to this worthless female. Report back to base. I will handle things here."

Kimimaro painfully bowed. "As you wish Orochimaru-sama. Please forgive us for our ineptitude."

The snake nin merely turned and began walking back to the mansion with the young Kumo girl slung over his shoulder.

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Katsu sighed tiredly as he reached his residence again. He had taken a short walk to clear his thoughts on his grandfathers recent death. But as he entered. He could feel the chakra output in the area as well as the telltale scent of lightning chakra.

A battle had been fought here.

He immediately rushed up the stairs. "INA!" He cried as he reached the top of the stairs and made it to the balcony.

"Ahh, Katsu-kun, so glad you arrived." Came the sickening voice of Orochimaru.

He was standing next to Mori's lifeless, sitting form. With Ina knelt infront of him, unconscious with her back to the snake nin. He was holding her up by her hair and the Kusanagi was held lightly across her neck.

Katsu narrowed his eyes at the man. "Orochimaru, S class missing nin from the hidden leaf. Current leader of the sound ninja. What do you want here? Kumo has not joined the war."

Orochimaru smirked. "Oh I know that. But you see, you and I are going to make a deal."

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Well I've got a new chap up. Read and review.


	47. Betrayal

Here's another chapter.

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Rice country. The small patch of land between Konoha and Kumo that housed the hidden sound village. Just west of the village was Kusa and to the north west was Iwa. The land mainly consisted of fertile plains and farm lands.

Not very large by any standards it was the last place one would consider to place a hidden village. Unlike many other villages Oto did not have natural defensive terrain. Konoha had its dense forests which were ideal for ambushes and trap setting. Iwa had its difficult mountainous terrain and series of defensive fortresses. Kumo had borders that could only be passed in certain areas making it quite easy to defend its borders from enemies. Suna with its harsh desert environment would make it difficult to invade without the enemies knowing where the water holes were. And finally Kiri had its deep mist and humid air. Both good for ambush and would exhaust someone not used to the weather.

Orochimaru however, not only made his hidden village there. He made it defensible.

Using the soft earth in the grasslands he erected a large series of tunnels and a network of hidden passages that allowed for fast troop movement as well as the movement of supplies to different key areas of his domain.

To guard the entrances to his tunnels he had erected five powerful fortresses. One was positioned to the north another to the east, south and west and as the nerve center of his village and tunnel network the final fortress was the village of hidden sound itself placed directly in the center of rice country.

Three of his five fortresses were currently under attack by the combined forces of Kiri Suna and Konoha.

Naruto shortly after gaining the title of sannin took charge of the military. He was met with a sort of hesitant approval and even some resistance by the more fanatical shinobi.

However all of the hesitation and foolish fanatical concerns were vanished as Naruto led raids and attacks and synchronized his assaults with those of Suna and Kiri. As the Konoha military faction steadily entered further into Oto territory Suna and Kiri also advanced.

Temari, the commander in charge of Suna steadily fought a battle using hit and run tactics, wearing down the Oto western front by chipping away at them.

Zabuza however, using his ferocity and aggressive personality led charges headlong into enemy lines, gaining the respect of his men and the fear of the eastern Oto forces. He finally reached the eastern Oto fortress and surrounded them.

However, rumors soon spread that Orochimaru himself was in the area.

Naruto, wanting to finally bring an end to the war left the his forces under the temporary command of Nara Shikamaru and headed to the eastern fortress of Washizu with Tsuchi Kin, Uchiha Sasuke and Hatake Kakashi as reinforcements.

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"Orochimaru-sama!" Came the voice of Kimimaro as he bowed to his master. "Reports state that Uzumaki is approaching Washizu."

A hiss that faintly sounded like laughter reached his ears. "Good, good. Soon Kiri will be destroyed and the alliance will fall apart and I will have the power I need to destroy Konoha." His hideous hiss of a laugh continued to echo in the hall.

He suddenly stopped laughing and his snake like eyes flashed. "Very good. Go and prepare for the next phase of the plan Kimimaro."

Kimimaro bowed respectfully. "Yes Orochimaru-sama"

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The fortress of Washizu. A relatively small fortress with nothing but a simple wall around a series of buildings. However, its true strength lied in the buildings themselves.

Seemingly normal mansions of Japanese design on the outside. They effectively hid the series of mazes, traps and hidden passages that lined the inside of them. Running along the center of the castle however was a river. It was fairly shallow going no higher than two feet. The river not only provided the troops within untainted fresh water it also effectively hid the secret entrance to the vast tunnel network beneath the city.

Zabuza, knowing that an attack would cost many ninja that Kiri could not afford to lose decided to go with an approach he had not used in a while. Strategy.

Oh yes. One vulnerability of all fortresses with a river near them was the risk of a flood attack.

Normally this wouldn't be feasible, however. Heavy rains had been pouring down on the eastern front for almost five days straight and fell even now. All Zabuza had to do was wait for water to build up in the nearby dam north of the fortress and create a damn of his own south of the fortress.

When there was enough water built up in the already existing dam he would simply open the floodgates and watch as the sound shinobi were flooded out.

A cruel smirk played at his lips _'Heh, just wait. I'll destroy these fools and end Orochimaru's pitiful life.'_

An Anbu suddenly appeared behind him. "Zabuza-sama, a message has just arrived." He silently held out a scroll."

Zabuza took it with a nod and the Anbu again vanished.

He silently unrolled the scroll before reading it and rolling it back up. He pocketed it and turned to look over the work again. _'So he's coming eh? Good.'_

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Naruto, Sasuke, Kin and Kakashi, were currently camping out. Naruto however could not shake the feeling that something extremely bad was going to happen, no was happening right now.

He was agitated, nervous and anxious. He stood with his back to his teammates. Kakashi, Sasuke and even Kin could tell that something was bothering the blond but decided not to question him.

Naruto silently stared at the vast plains before him. With his sharp sight he could faintly see the soft glow of the torches of Zabuza's camp. It was definitely a ways away, probably five or so miles.

Damn it, he shouldn't be feeling this way. The war was going their way they were winning and the destruction of sound was in sight. So what the hell was this ridiculous feeling of foreboding he had?

He sighed with frustration and grabbed the bridge of his nose with his hand. Noting was making sense anymore. Then he also had Akatsuki to worry about. They were going to be a real pain in the ass.

He sighed again before looking up at the bright full moon that hung in the sky.

Sasuke suddenly walked next to him with the same apathetic glance he gave everyone. He now stood at the same height as the blond. He wore a black, lose fitting Haori and Hakama with the Uchiha crest on the back. He had a hilt-less straight, single edged sword on his back. The leaf forehead protector no longer rested on his forehead but on his right arm, letting his hair fall over his eyes.

"So what's up?" He asked as he stole a glance at his old teammate.

Naruto sighed tiredly. "Nothing. Just anxiety I suppose." He turned back to the Uchiha survivor. "Go and get some rest. I'll keep watch tonight." The tone of his voice indicated that the conversation was over and Sasuke decided it was in the interest of his health to do as asked.

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Zabuza was overlooking work on the southern damn early the next morning. "Good, keep that steady. I don't want this thing collapsing on us!" He exclaimed to a group of men hauling a large log into place. The mud from the river water and heavy rain was making progress rather slow.

"ZABUZA-SAMA!!!"

Zabuza turned at the sound of a chuunin's voice calling to him. "What?" He asked with a gruff voice that held a trace of boredom and aggressiveness somehow.

The Mist Chuunin bowed before he addressed the demon of the mist. "Four leaf nin's are in the camp requesting to see you sir." Zabuza nodded and silently walked to towards the camp.

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Zabuza reached the main tent and entered. A blank look was on his face as he stared at the four occupants.

Naruto immediately smiled at the older man. "Hey boozehound!" He greeted cheerfully and was immediately forced to dodge the chair Zabuza kicked to his head.

"I told you to stop calling me that!" Zabuza growled through gritted teeth as he grabbed another chair and sat down. "Allright, why is the commander of the leaf forces coming onto the eastern front?" He asked as he looked at the grinning blond.

The smile on Naruto's face immediately dropped and his expression hardened. "We've heard rumors that Orochimaru is in Washizu. We came because Orochimaru might just be too much for you to handle."

Zabuza snorted. "Feh, just watch, I'll cleave that pale snake's head right off his shoulders." He emphasized his point by slamming his Kubikiri onto the ground.

Naruto shook his head and translated Zabuza's words into normal human language.

'Yeah, thanks for coming, I thought I was gonna have to face that guy on my own for a while.'

Kakashi, who had been simply reading his book in the corner decided to join the conversation. "So…a flood attack Zabuza?" He asked with just a hint of disbelief in his voice.

Zabuza snorted. "It might not be quick but it's gonna get the job done, trust me on that."

Sasuke stepped forward this time "Do you know anywhere Orochimaru might be inside the fortress?"

"Yeah, I can't wait to give that damn snake some payback for trying to use me as a sacrifice." Kin decided to put her two cents into the conversation from her corner of the tent.

She hadn't changed much. Her hair was a bit longer and now reached a little past her lower back. She wore skin tight black pants that were made of a spandex material that hugged her hips nicely. She also wore a white long sleeve shirt. The sleeves were slightly billowy where she hid lengths of ninja wire.

Zabuza shrugged again. "No clue, if the snake is in there then he's keeping a real low profile. But I would guess him being in the central tower." The Kiri ninja stood. "Allright, I'll get you guys a tent ready and tomorrow you can help me in managing the dam construction."

The four leaf nins nodded before everyone silently exited the tent.

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Meanwhile in Suna

"Hi Hoodie!"

Gaara glared at the paper infront of him with a glare so powerful it was as if he was willing it to burst into flames before his very eyes and crumble into ash. He slowly moved his gaze upwards to see the smiling form of Tenten.

She had changed much over the years. She had rounded out in all the right places. She still wore her hair in its usual bun style. She still wore her regular pink Chinese shirt and pats but she also wore a grey sort of toga above it. It not only served to block out the harsh sun of Suna but also hid a multitude of weapons. She also wore two short wakizashi horizontally across her lower back.

Gaara…well…he grew taller.

Tenten remained completely oblivious to Gaara's glare of doom. He didn't even know why he tried anymore. It never worked anyway. Even when they first met she had the power to shrug off his glare technique like nothing. And Naruto himself couldn't accomplish such a feat.

"Miss me?" She asked with her usual cheer.

"No." He deadpanned in his usual monotone.

Tenten deflated a bit but she soon brightened considerably and before Gaara could even blink she had managed to get across the room, around his desk and in his lap with her arms wrapped around his neck.

"What are you doing?" He asked trying to hide his shock and his blush.

Tenten smiled up at him. "Well I wanted to get close to you so I could do this!" In an instant Tenten's hand found its way right back to Gaara's ears. Now with his hood down one could see his scowl firmly in place as he glared at her but Tenten simply smiled that smile of hers completely ignoring his indignation and irritation at the brave (Or very foolish) girl in his arms.

The door to his office suddenly opened and Baki came walking in. "Kazekage-sama we'v…" Whatever he was about to say died in his throat as he saw Tenten sitting on Gaara's lap with one arm around his neck and the other happily petting his ears, with the bright smile on her face. "Hi Baki!" She chirped.

Gaara was glaring daggers at the man though if it was for the interruption or the fact that he had discovered this, or both Baki did not know.

Deciding to save his hide, Baki did the only thing he could think of.

"I'll…just…go…" With that said he turned and made his way to the door but was soon blocked by a wall of sand. He gulped and prayed to any deity in existence to forgive him for his sins.

Gaara's emotionless voice drifted into his ear and made a cold chill run up the man's spine. "Not a word to anyone, Baki."

He nodded and in an instant the wall of sand disappeared and he literally flew out of the room.

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Meanwhile in Kiri

Haku sighed tiredly as he scaned another economics document over Kiri's trade districts and ports.

'_Why did I take this job again. Gaara's the one who enjoys this stuff. Oh well, Kotaro's too old and Zabuza-tousan's too……brash, for this so I guess I really was the only choice. Oh well.'_

His musings were interrupted as the door to his office opened and Sakura walked in. "Hi Haku." She greeted with her usual smile.

Hake absently waved back as his eyes never left the paper he was holding. "Hey."

Sakura cocked her head to the side with a curious expression on her face. "What's up?" She asked as she made her way around his desk to look over his shoulder at the document in his hand.

Haku sighed again. "Nothing, 'm just trying to decide if I should send more funds to the ports or the land based trade routes."

Sakura gave a thoughtful 'Hmm' before she replied "Well, the ports and harbors have always been a cornerstone of Kiri's economy but if something sould ever happen tothem then Kiri will have nothing to fall back on. So I think you should send more funds to the land based trade routes to get them more stable."

Haku nodded. "Makes sense, but still, with this war we need money and increasing resources for the docks right now has a bigger chance of getting us that money than what the land based routes have."

Sakura shrugged.

Haku sighed and rubbed his forehead.

Sakura spared him a sympathetic glance before she spoke again. "You look stressed, how about I treat you to some sushi."

Haku smiled at the pink haired medic. "As long as you don't threaten the waiter with that monstrous strength of yours again."

This time it was Sakura's turn to snort. "The idiot was acting like an ass so someone had to set him straight."

Haku barked a short laugh before he stood and walked around his desk to offer his hand to her. "Well, shall we go?" He asked with a smile.

Sakura smiled back and gave him a mock bow. "Why thank you Mizukage-sama." She said mockingly before taking his hand.

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Time skip: two week's later.

Zabuza, Naruto, Sasuke, Kin and Kakashi stood overlooking the northern dam that was practically overflowing with water. Zabuza turned to a chuunin behind him. "All right, tell them to open it."

The chuunin bowed before he rushed off to deliver the message.

"Now the fun begins." Naruto said with a smirk. Zabuza gave off an identical smirk before another chuunin came rushing to the group with a frantic look in his eyes. "Zabuza-sama!" He yelled as he hastily bowed.

Zabuza and Naruto both got the same feeling of foreboding.

"Sir, there are reports indicating that Orochimaru has managed to break through the blockade and is heading to the southern fortress!!"

Zabuza's and everyone else's eyes widened considerably. "WHAT!!!" He yelled. "Damn it. All right, organize a pursuit party immediately we're going after him!"

"No wait!" Naruto yelled stopping the ninja. "I think this is what he wants. He wants for you and others to split your forces. As a wise man once said ' If you go after two hares you will catch neither. Zabuza stay here and continue with your plan, Kakashi, you stay with him and help him, Sasuke and Kin, you're coming with me and we're going after Orochimaru!"

"You sure brat! We don't even know how many men he's got."

Naruto shrugged. I'm stronger than the snake and there are few people that are better than Sasuke or Kin so I'm sure we'll be fine."

Zabuza nodded. "Allright, we'll do it your way."

Naruto nodded before he turned to Kin and Sasuke. "Let's go." The two nodded before all three vanished in a puff of smoke.

Zabuza sighed before he looked over to Kakashi who was still happily reading his book. "Arent you even the least bit worried?"

Kakashi shrugged. "Worrying about it won't change the outcome. I prefer to finish what he assigned to me so that I can go help sooner."

Zabuza shook his head and turned back to the dam that was now beginning to creak open. He unhooked Kubikiri from his back. "Allright. Let's wash these sound nin out of here."

Allmost as if it was waiting for the command the floodgates opened completely and a tidal wave of rushing water came forth.

Zabuza turned to Kakashi. They gave each other a nod and vanished in a puff of smoke.

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Orochimaru was rushing through the trees at a fast pace with Tayoya, Kidomaru, and Jirobu, with Ina slung over his shoulder.

Kimimaro suddenly blurred into existence next to him. "Orochimaru-sama. It appears Naruto Uzumaki, Uchiha Sasuke and another Kunoichi are giving pursuit."

Orochimaru laughed cruelly. "Kukuku, good they are all playing right into my trap."

Kimimaru seemed uncomfortable until he finally spoke. "Orochimaru-sama, may I ask why you allowed him to follow us we could have easily escaped to the southern fortress through the tunnels."

Orochimaru smirked. "Don't you recognize strategy Kimimaro-kun. I am luring him away from the front."

Kimimaro decided not to ask anything further as they continued to rush through the grassy plains south west.

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Two figures stood atop a small hill. One was a male with shoulder length black hair and the other was a female with pale blond almost silvery hair in long single braid. Both had Kumo forehead protectors.

They watched with blank faces as the Kiri flood attack took place.

"I don't like this." The female spoke.

"Neither do I but we must ensure miss Ina's safety Yugito."

"Yes but…at what cost?"

The man simply took a deep breath, "Katsu's my best friend. And so I will help him, no matter how I feel."

"But…this is betrayal." She said with something akin to desperation in her voice.

"I know. But we must do it for Ina's safety." He then turned to face her. "Shall we?"

She nodded and turned around and made a single handseal. "Kai!" In an instant an empty field was filled with hundreds of Kumo nins.

Yugito took a deep breath before she spoke.

"We have our orders. Bring me Momochi Zabuza's head!"

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Hehehehehe, I bet no one saw this coming about three chapters ago


	48. Fall of the sound four

Hmmm, well plenty of disbelief at what I did in the last chap but oh well, I'm on a roll now my friends so expect plenty of updates for this story.

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As the rush of the newly released river water died down, Zabuza and his Kiri ninja all swiftly rushed across the waters surface with chakra. It was a bit difficult at first, since the current, while weaker than before was still very, very strong.

The river had completely covered everything in nearly fifteen feet of water. Some of the Kiri jounins could leap over the wall from the waters surface it was so high.

The buildings within the walls were all mostly destroyed by the rush of water, no doubt taken in the strong current. The few that were still standing however were of little consequence. The sound ninja were all fighting along the surface of the water but with most of their forces either injured or dead because of the water their scattered resistance was being taken apart quickly.

With a yell Zabuza swung his Zabatou cleaving a sound chuunin in two. His upper body fell to the side and the demon of the hidden mist watched as the two halves splashed in the water and sank, leaving the red hue of blood in their wake.

He turned around again and observed as the sound nin were falling left and right all around him. Kakashi suddenly appeared next to him calmly reading his book. "Yo" He said before flicking a kunai that lodged itself in a sound ninja's throat. "Sector five is under control and I see that section four is too." He said nonchalantly. Almost as if he wasn't in the middle of a flooded, but nonetheless bloody, battlefield.

Zabuza absently nodded before he began speaking. "Allright, lets go check out…" Before he could finish speaking an explosion rocked the northern wall and in a rush hundreds of Kumo nin suddenly leaped over the wall.

"WHAT THE HELL!" Zabuza yelled as he saw the Kumo nins begin to attack his Kiri ninja. Wasn't Kumo on _their_ side?

He turned to Kakashi who had an equally shocked look on his face and for once his book was not in his hand. Instead he stood in a battle ready stance and the Sharingan eye was visible for everyone to see.

"What's going on copy cat?" Zabuza asked as he sidestepped a kunai before throwing one of his own at the rookie chuunin.

"How the hell should I know?" Kakashi grunted as he took out two kunais and swiftly dealt with another ninja.

Zabuza grunted and looked around before finding the single large tower in the center of the compound, sunk halfway in water. "Come on, we're sitting ducks out in the open like this!" He exclaimed before doing a rapid series of handseals. **"Suryuudan no jutsu!" **He yelled. The vast quantity of water made it easy for five large sized water dragons to appear.

Kakashi and Zabuza used the short distraction and made a mad dash to the central tower. Once there Kakashi immediately made two simple handseals without even stopping in his run. **"Chidori!" **He yelled as he drove his fist into the wooden wall. With a loud crash the wall was obliterated and the two elites rushed into the building slaughtering the occasional sound nin that appeared in their way as they rushed up the stairs to the very top of the tower.

They finally reached the top balcony and looked down at the battle taking place below. Kumo nin had swarmed over all four walls and now had them completely surrounded. They were pushing back the Kirin in with ease, using the confusion of their surprise attack and the assistance from the few remaining sound ninja.

"Fuck!" Zabuza snarled before he turned to Kakashi. "Got any ideas?"

Kakashi turned to him and took a breath as he started to speak. But was immediately forced to dodge a kunai that whizzed by his cheek slicing the side of his mask.

Both elites turned and saw two Kumo nin at the stairs they had previously run up. One was a man with shoulder length black hair and the other was a Kunoichi with pale blond hair.

Zabuza smirked his bloodthirsty smirk, effectively hiding his growing unease at the situation. "Heh, so Copy Cat, which one do you want?"

Kakashi turned to Zabuza with his usual upside down U for eyes that indicated he was smiling. "Well, I'd definitely have to say the girl is very pleasant to look at so I guess I'll go with her."

"Yugito!" Barked the Kumo nin to his female partner. "You take the copy-cat, I'll deal with Zabuza."

"Of course, Yasue." She replied through gritted teeth as she glared at Kakashi. Of course Kakashi just smiled that familiar smile of his, also hiding his growing unease. Shit if he was gonna die no one was gonna say he was a coward. Maybe an idiot but not a coward.

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Naruto, Sasuke and Kin were rushing through the grasslands at break neck speed.

"Hey Kin!" Naruto addressed the girl as they kept on running. "You were in sound before, do you know if Orochimaru had any body guards?"

Kin looked thoughtful for a moment before shrugging. "Well they weren't body guards per se they were more like the elites of sound. I don't know much about their abilities just that there were four or five of them.

Naruto nodded and turned to Sasuke. "Well, I'm not sure if he's still alive but the last time I fought Orochimaru he was with this white haired guy that used his own bones as weapons. He was pretty tough but I managed to hit him with a Rasengan in the gut. If he survived I think you should take him and Kin can take on anyone else there while I deal with Orochimaru."

Sasuke nodded indicating that he understood.

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Kakashi blocked a high kick from Yugito with his left fore arm. He moved his right hand and grabbed her ankle, he summoned up his strength and with a yell he swung the girl up over his shoulder and slammed her into the wood floor making the wood groan and creak in protest, nearly giving way under the stress.

Yugito winced slightly but recovered and swiftly twisted her left leg up behind her and kicked Kakashi in the face making him release the leg that he still had in his grasp. She rolled forward and got to her feet. She got to her feet and threw two kunais at the silver haired jounin.

Kakashi moved fast and kicked a table in the way of the projectiles, blocking both of them. He then ran up and with a fast kick the table flew across the room towards Yugito.

The kumo kunoichi kicked the table with enough force to break it in half, however the scattering of splinters and wood was enough of a distraction for Kakashi to get in real close and with a hard right kick to the side of her head Yugito went flying through the air and crashed through the wall.

Kakashi took out five kunai and wrapped them all in explosive tags. He threw them all into the room where Yugito had crashed into and with a resounding boom they exploded. The copy nin sighed in sadness. _'She was kinda cute. Oh well, time to go help Zabu…'_ His thoughts were cut short as a large hand made of purple-ish, black flames shot out of the hole he had made in the wall

Kakashi lunged to the side as the appendage crashed down where he was previously standing. With a simple roll he was back on his feet and staring at a humanoid form with cat like ears and a black flame like chakra surrounding it.

'_Soooo' _He mused. _'She is a jinchuriki as well'_ He took a fighting stance. _'This might get difficult, but with only one tail I should still have a chance at winning.'_

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Zabuza's fight meanwhile had taken to the roof of the building.

Yasuo, the Kumo jounin rolled to the side as Zabuza's blade came crashing down in an attempt to cleave his skull open. As he looked back up he was only able to catch a glimpse of Zabuza's foot before it slammed right into the side of his face sending him skidding across the rooftop.

He jumped to his feet just in time to avoid a crushing axe kick. He turned on his heel and kicked Zabuza right in the face sending him stumbling back. He followed it up with a sweep kick making the large man fall onto his back.

Zabuza recovered in time to grab Yasuo's wrist as the man tried to stab him with a kunai. He moved fast and raised his leg kicking the Kumo jounin in the ribs. Zabuza got to his feet and formed a few quick hand seals. **"Kiri gakure no jutsu!" ** He whispered and in an instant the roof of the tower was covered in a deep mist.

Yasuo gritted his teeth in anger. The silent killing technique was not something he wanted to face, not with anyone, especially not a master at the technique like Zabuza.

He formed a simple seal and dispelled the mist in a thirty foot radius around him.

"Lungs, heart, liver, jugular vein, kidneys, brain, spinal column. Hmmm, which shall use to kill you?" Zabuza's voice drifted from the mist with eerie coldness.

Yasuo's eyes darted from right to left in an attempt to find the demon of the mist. But only a slight cracking sound gave him warning before Zabuza smashed from the floor beneath his feet with Kubikiri already in mid swing.

With a sickening slice Yasuo was cut from his torso to his upper right shoulder.

Zabuza smirked but it soon vanished as Yasuo was replaced with a roof tile.

However, being a master at the silent killing technique not only allowed you to be as quiet as a mouse, it also allowed you to hear everything. So it was no surprise when Zabuza turned on his heel and grabbed a fist aimed at his face with ease.

Yasuo's eyes widened as he saw Zabuza calmly stop his attack. He had used almost all his speed in an attempt to get a hit in and he was one of the fastest Kumo nins today.

Zabuza smirked coldly before swiftly snapping the man's forearm like a twig. Yasuo screamed in pain and moved to kick Zabuza's ribs in a desperate attempt to escape the mans grip. Zabuza shifted Kubikiri and Yasuo found his leg sliced open with a long gash making him fall down on one knee.

Zabuza was about to deliver the killing blow when suddenly the whole building shook and the tower leaned dangerously onto one side. The cracking and snapping of wodden beams echoed through the air as the entire thing cracked like a toothpick and fell off to the side.

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!" Zabuza and Yasuo screamed as they both plummeted to the overflowing river below.

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Kakashi cursed as he dodged yet another swipe from the humanoid, black-flamed, single-tailed, Neko. He hopped that the information he had gotten on the Bijuu was accurate. Because Kakashi could safely say he would most likely never be able to handle something above a two-tail.

Heck, right now he was having some serious doubts.

He rolled again to the side as the claws swiped at him again. He hastily got to his feeet and made two hand seals. **"Raikiri!" **He yelled as the lightning materialized in his hand and he charged at the jinchuriki.

Yugito in her half berserk state did not bother to dodge, instead she extended both her claws in an attempt to hit the Jounin while he was still at a distance.

Kakashi's sharingan told him ahead of time of the incoming attack and with a last minute sidestepped and stabbed his **Raikiri** into the neko's wrist and continued running, dragging the **Raikiri** with him slicing open the chakra claw.

Yugito let out a screech of pain as Kakashi dragged the **Raikiri** up her arm. He tore it out of her shoulder as he passed her and pivoted on his heel, doing a swift 180 and stabbing what remained of his Raikiri right into her rib cage.

Kakashi was about to pull back when a hard back hand to his face sent him crashing into the wall.

Yugito turned around with a slight limp as her wound healed and Kakashi saw the beginning of the second tail begin to emerge.

Never the less…he smirked. And bolted out the window.

Yugito was about to follow him when a scroll Kakashi had dropped at her feet exploded coating her and the entire room with hundreds of exploding tags.

Boom

Kakashi adjusted his form as he dived straight down and hit the water with a light splash as the tower behind him broke in two and fell down behind him.

He turned around underwater just in time to see the Kumo jinchuriki fall into the water unconscious the tower splashed down into the water nearly crushing both of them as it fell. Kakashi was about to start swimming to the surface when he felt something dragging him down. He turned around and noticed a slight whirlpool forming at the bottom of the street.

'_How the hell is that possible?'_ He thought beginning to panic slightly, the current was getting stronger and stronger and as much as he tried he couldn't get any closer to the surface…infact, he was getting pulled into the whirlpool.

(For those of you who haven't figured it out the entrance to the secret tunnels beneath rice country was damaged when the tower fell and is now sucking the water in.)

Kakashi slowly felt his vision blurring and his strength leaving him as oxygen was denied his lungs. Instead of continuing his futile struggle he decided to calm down and took a meditate pose to place himself in a trance and focused chakra in his lungs to be able to sustain himself for at least a few extra minutes.

The copy nin slowly sank into the dark depths of the tunnel as one last chunk of debris covered the entrance stopping any more water from entering and anyone from exiting.

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Naruto suddenly stopped as a very familiar scent hit his nose causing his blood to run cold.

Then a sudden and indescribable anger took place of the shock and his eyes bled into deep red as a dark growl escaped his throat.

Sasuke and Kin, who had stopped when he did couldn't help the chill that went up their backs at the terrible sound.

It was hateful, deep, dark, pure bloodlust. It was unlike anything they had ever heard before and it terrified them.

Before either could say anything however Naruto bolted, running at least twice as fast as before. He was so fast even Sasuke was struggling to keep up.

At this new pace it was not long before they were in sight of the group and quickly closing the distance.

Orochimaru glanced behind him and let out a smirk. "Jiroubu, hand her to me!" In an instant Jiroubu complied and passed Ina onto Orochimaru and fell back to the rear of the group. "Get ready." He hissed to his subordinates.

The remaining sound elites nodded as they continued their run.

"**OROCHIMARU!!!"** The ferocious roar reached his ear and he gave a disgusting grin. "NOW!" He yelled and in an instant Tayuya, Kidomaru and Jiroubu fell back behind Naruto and erected their barrier in a triangle shape around Kin and Sasuke cutting them off.

Naruto however was heedless of the plight of his teammates. All he saw was red. He could see the grinning snake with _His_ Ina slung over his shoulder and it infuriated him. The only thought was to kill. To feel the snakes cold blood between his claws.

Kimimaru spun around on his heel and slammed his hands on the ground. **"Sawarabi no mai!" **He yelled and in an instant hundreds of bone like spikes shot from the ground creating a forest of bone spikes.

In an instant however Kimimaro's bone forest was blasted to bits as red chakra exploded forth and a massive four-tailed fox with golden fur emerged with a furious roar. He was bleeding profusely and one bone spike was impaled through his shoulder but all the wounds were rapidly healing and as he moved forward to attack five snakes sprouted from the ground around him and clamed down on his shoulder blades holding him in place.

Naruto howled in pain and thrashed around snarling and biting bashing the snakes with his tails, doing everything in his power to get the snakes off him so he could destroy the snake sannin.

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Meanwhile back in the triangle Sasuke and Kin had a similar situation befall them. As three large snakes just short of Manda himself were summoned to deal with them.

Sasuke leaped up as one of the snakes struck at him. He swiftly unsheathed his Kusanagi and with a swift movement the snake's head was chopped off as its body continued writhing and constricting spasmodically.

He turned and found Kin holding off one snake yet the other was slowly sneaking up behind her. His eyes widened and a small moment of panic grips him. He lunges and gets between the snake and her before he could even comprehend what he was doing his hands were flying through seals.

"**Katon Gokakyuu no jutsu!!!" **He yelled as a massive fireball erupted from his mouth burning the snake to a smoking pile of ashes.

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Orochimaru grinned as he watched the Uchiha for a brief moment. It appeared as if he cared for the girl. Another weapon he could use to lure not only Uzumaki, but the Uchiha into his trap as well.

"Kimimaro, Tayuya, Kidomaru, Jiroubu, stall them as long as you can." He orders while the four turn to look at him with disbelief on their faces. He gives no explanation as he vanishes in a puff of smoke.

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Sasuke panted slightly at the end of his attack. He had placed a high amount of chakra into his attack so the snake would roast almost instantly. He turned to look back at Kin, who had somehow managed to wrap the snake completely in ninja wire within the span of his attack and was now flying through seals. **"Katon Ryuuka no jutsu." **

With a cry flames shot from her moth to the wire wrapping the snake in their deadly embrace roasting it alive.

She turned back and faced him with an arrogant smirk which he returned full force.

"Kukuku, how cute." Came the voice of the snake sannin before Sasuke had time to turn a bone crunching kick slammed into the side of his head sending him skidding across the ground.

"Sasuke!" Kin yelled before she turned to face the man with a glare. She quickly formed the necessary hand seals before **"Dokugiri!" **She muttered as a purple mist flew out of her mouth towards the snake nin. He laughed before leaping away.

Kin heard the footsteps and turned around on her heel to try a round house kick to the pale nins face but Orochimaru caught her ankle easily and in one fluid movement his own leg shot out and kicked her other leg out from under her, he twisted his foot so that his ankle and hers would be interlocked and with as much speed and strength as he could muster flipped her so she would land on her front instead of her back.

As Kin fell to the ground Orochimaru's leg dropped straight down right onto the small of her back. A sickening crack was heard indicating that he had most probably broken her back. Kin's mouth opened in a silent scream of pain before Orochimaru struck out again kicking her at the base of her neck with enough force to knock her out.

The snake nin pulled out Kusanagi and swiftly blocked a second sword that was aiming for his neck. He turned his eyes onto the spinning red form of the Sharingan, glaring at him with anger.

Orochimaru smirked. "My, my Sasuke-kun, getting angry are we?" He asked tauntingly.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes and with a quick upwards swipe he pushed Orochimaru's blade up, leaving him wide open and stabbed the snake nin through the chest. Sasuke's eyes narrowed. That was too easy.

And sure enough the 'Orochimaru' he was fighting turned into a pile of mud. He turned quickly but didn't see the snake anywhere. He then turned to look at Kin when he found she was not there. His eyes went wide and fear welled up in his chest. His eyes soon narrowed and his fists clenched into a white knuckled grip.

The barrier around him suddenly vanished and the three sound nins rushed towards the Uchiha. All in their second stage curse seals. Sasuke cracked his neck and took a fighting stance. He was going to end this quick and enjoy it as much as possible.

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Naruto meanwhile. With Ina's scent no longer in the air was able to regain some sense of sanity. He roared as chakra erupted from his body, burning the snakes holding him down, causing them to hiss in pain and release him.

In a flash his tails lashed out hitting four of the snakes as he bit down on another's neck. He could taste the metallic blood flowing between his fangs. Seeping down to his tongue and throat His inner demon growled with unrestrained bloodlust as his red eyes began glowing an eerie red.

The snake attempted to bite back but with a quick jerk the head was torn from the body. The last of the skin and muscles making an audible snap as the flew apart like rubber bands.

Naruto released the snake, it's head making a crash as it landed. He turned back to the four snakes which now approached him with hesitation. His four tails swooshed behind him his golden fur shining and his bloodied teeth sparkling. His eyes glowed with pure bloodlust.

He was the perfect image of a miniature Kyuubi.

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Sasuke shifted his foot to the side, neatly avoiding a fist from Jiroubu. With a sharp kick he sent the fat man stumbling back. There was a strange sound to his right he turned and found hundreds of spiders coming towards him.

In a rush, flames spiraled around him before he muttered. **"Katon Daibakuha!" **In a great explosion all the spiders were incinerated.

He blurred infront of Kidomaru in an instant. The multi armed warrior had an arrow already notched in his bow. He fired at the raven haired Uchiha, hoping to get him between the eyes.

Sasuke tilted his head to the side letting the arrow pass harmlessly, before he lashed out with his sword and chopped off one of Kidomaru's right arms making the nin scream in pain.

"DAMN BASTARD MY ARM!!!" He cried as he clutched the stump of the bleeding appendage.

"You have enough to spare." Sasuke said blandly. Whatever he was going to do next was cut short as a sudden impact from behind made him stumble forward. He turned back around and found Tayuya playing her flute. With a gust a second impact hit him in the chest. It actually hurt.

He quickly deduced that she was using sound waves to attack him somehow.

When he felt the next gust of wind he moved quickly to the side and charged at the pink haired girl. When he was close he lunged in an attempt to stab her. He was met with resistance in the form of a sound barrier. He narrowed his eyes and pushed chakra into his blade, making it spark with electricity.

In an instant the sound barrier collapsed and Sasuke plunged his blade right into Tayuya's ribcage, piercing her lung and spinal column. She gave of a gurgled cry before he pulled his blade out and she crumpled to the ground dead.

"TAYUYA!" Jirobu and Kidomaru cried out in unison. As they watched their femae teammate fall to the ground.

Jirobu cried in rage as he grasped the earth and hefted a huge boulder over his head and threw it at the Uchiha.

Sasuke merely turned to the large stone hurdling towards him with a blank look. When it was close he chopped it neatly in half as both halves fell neatly next to him he turned on his heel and with an unrolled scroll a fuuma shuriken dropped into his hand.

With a fast toss he threw it to Kidomaru, who was already preparing another arrow.

He released his arrow making it collide with the incoming fuma shuriken. He then saw the second one hiding in the shadow of the first. With two hands occupied with the bow and arrow he used the third to catch the weapon before it hit him, he started to smirk but it vanished as he saw the explosive tag.

Boom!

Sasuke watched the explosion with that same blank look. He knew he had gotten him, not even a kawarimi would have gotten him out of their fast enough.

Sasuke suddenly felt himself being wrapped in a bear hug from behind. "I'll crush you!" Jiroubu cried as he tightened his grip.

"**Chidori Nagashi." **Sasuke whispered and in an instant volts of lightning were coursing through the air around him, paralyzing Jiroubu and forcing the sound nin to release him. He turned around on his heel and with a quick swing He successfully lobed off Jiroubu's head.

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Naruto slowly stalked towards his last remaining prey.

Kimimaro.

The white haired sound nin was paralyzed in place by pure fear alone. The vicious blood red eyes of the approaching fox, coated in red blood from the dead corpses of snakes that glistened in the light. It was terror incarnate.

Still, he swallowed his fear and once again formed his hand seals. Orochimaru-sama had asked him to stall so he would stall. He made a silent prayer and poured all of his chakra into his technique **"Sawarabi no mai!" **He yelled and in an instant a bone forest twice as large as his last one sprouted from the earth to impale the Kitsune.

Or it would have if Naruto was still standing there. The remaining blood drained from his face as a deep low growl came from directly behind him. He closed his eyes before a twin set of jaws closed in on him.

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Naruto heard the satisfying crunch of Kimimaro's bones between his teeth and felt the warm blood seeping between them. He spit out the remains of the sound nin before turning his eyes into the direction Orochimaru escaped to. He gave a low growl before he felt a presence to his right.

He turned his head slightly and faced the Uchiha heir. When he did not see Kin he looked around before looking back at Sasuke.

Sasuke, who was too busy picking up his jaw, didn't seem to understand at first but with a low growl he was forced to exit his state of shock. "Orochimaru took her." He stated still quite wary.

Naruto couldn't blame him. He had to admit to himself that his true form was indeed intimidating. Perhaps not as much as his grandfathers but enough to make one think twice.

Still now was not the time for hesitation. He closed his eyes and felt power surge through him.

Sasuke stepped back and shielded his eyes as the fox began to glow when the light died down the Uchiha let out an undignified squeak as he gazed at the latest transformation.

Fur had been replaced by scales, neck was elongated, ears replaced by two long horns and four spiked tails with two leathery wings.

He gazed at the dragon slack-jawed.

Naruto stretched his new wings and elongated neck before turning back at Sasuke. He bowed his head and lowered his neck indicating for the Uchiha to get on.

Sasuke hesitated for a brief moment, before he assured himself that this was Naruto. He took a deep breath before he got on.

He clutched onto the edges of the scales as Naruto raised himself up and with a deafening roar and a mighty flap of his wings took to the sky.

(No this is not from Eragon. I've been planning on doing something like this since I first gave him this transformation)

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Zabuza opened his eyes and felt water all around him. He recovered from his slight disorientation and saw the surface. He scrambled to reach it. To reach air.

When he finally broke the surface he gasped a deep breath and used chakra to heave himself upwards on shaky limbs.

As he caught his breath he slowly lifted his eyes upwards and saw dozens of Kumo nin's all around him with weapons ready

He slowly picked himself up onto wobbly legs and grasped the hilt of his sword, that was still in his grasp by sheer instinct alone.

"Momochi Zabuza. You are hereby placed under arrest for your war crimes against the hidden sound village. Surender and we will make your execution quick." Said a Kumo jounin. Even though one could see a slight hesitation within himself.

Zabuza didn't hear him though. His eyes were glazed over as he thought of Naruto, Gaara and Haku. The three most important people in his life, the three people that he would die to protect.

His sons.

He had to smirk at that. Indeed they were his sons. He wasn't sure if Gaara and Naruto felt the same but that's how he felt.

Naruto. The blond hyperactive knuckle head that was amazingly powerful, yet incredibly stupid. The Kid who had probably saved his life when they met in the forest. An enigma in his own right.

Gaara. The quiet reserved, intelligent and rational shinobi from suna.

And finally Haku the first person who ever considered him something other than a demon. The person who helped him and stood with him through every hardship and impasse.

He smirked fondly as he thought of them._ 'Heh, stupid brats. I'm glad I got to see you come this far.' _He turned back to the Kumo nins before him. _'But it looks like this is the end for me.'_

He tightened his grip on his sword as chakra took the form of an Oni above him, frrezing most of the jounins and making the chuunins lose their lunch by the sheer killing intent alone.

With a determined gaze the demon of the hidden mist charged into what no doubt would be his final battle.

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Hmmm, well tell me what you think. Read and review please


	49. The Demon's last stand

Hehehehehe, Everyone is shocked and awed at this development. Oh well, I suppose I succeeded in my attempt to surprise you all. Yet I still felt that the ending for the last chapter was a bit…lacking. So I did this!

Enjoy.

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Naruto soared through the air, the floating clouds beneath them. The three day trip from Washizu to Imakugo, the southern fortress, reduced to mere hours.

Even though Sasuke, could not see the ground clearly due to the sheer height, Naruto could see it as if he was using a telescope to view the moon. It appeared that Orochimaru had summoned one of the faster snakes shortly after his departure. The ground had a large jagged trench running across the landscape.

The sun was setting now, its orange hue making the clouds glow like a river of fire. His white scales shined in the sunlight. His mighty wings beat the air around him, propelling him forward towards his destination. His Ina. It was all that really mattered to him now. He would be damned before he allowed that snake to keep her with him.

Sasuke meanwhile was still trying to fight down the feeling of vertigo. He could continually feel his stomach flipping inside of him and he could only pray that he wouldn't throw up.

Naruto glanced up at the Uchiha's slightly green profile and narrowed his eyes before growling in his throat. _'Bastard better not get air sick.' _He mentally warned before setting his gaze ahead.

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Zabuza heard the satisfying sound of metal slicing flesh and piercing bone as he slammed his blade into the side of another nin. Cutting his ribs and lungs. He pushed the man off his blade and with a fast turn kicked another ninja that was coming up behind him in his head sending the man reeling back.

With a cry and a swing of his sword blood flew through the air around the demon of the mist.

_Flashblack:_

_Zabuza sat in a meditative pose it the top of a tree in the middle of the forest. The wind settled itself on a light, cool breeze. _

_Yes he could safely say he was at peace here._

"_HIIIIIIIIII BOZEHOUND!" Was yelled right in his ear, effectively shattering the wonderful peace and tranquility, ending his relaxation._

_And it was all cause by the grinning blond idiot before him. _

_He growled before decking him right in the back of his head. "STOP CALLING ME THAT!"  
_

"_But that's what you are!" Naruto whined as he protested._

_Zabuza growled and hit him again for good measure. "What the hell did you want anyway?" He asked as he settled himself down again._

_Naruto looked at him curiously. "Ummm, nothing really. I was just walkin around" He mumbled to himself sitting next to the man._

_Zabuza glanced at him irritated. "So you just decided to scream in my ear at the top of your lungs!?" He asked with his non-existent eyebrow twitching._

_Naruto smiled brightly, if abeit sheepishly and nodded with enthusiasm._

_Zabuza muttered under his breath about stupid, retarded blond moron's who didn't know when to leave a man in peace and they both fell into a comfortable silence._

_After several minutes Naruto spoke up again. "Hey, boozehound."_

"_What?" He answered back gruffly._

"_I'm glad you came with us. Naruto said as he smiled sincerely at the older man._

_Zabuza stared at the blond with a dumbfounded expression on his face before breaking into a grin of his own. "Same here brat." He said as he ruffled the blonds hair affectionately._

_Flashback end:_

Zabuza gasped in pain as a kunai flew through the air and hit him right in the gut. He hastily clutched his new injury. His grip on the sword weakening for a brief moment before he managed to ignore the pain and take up the fight again.

"You can't beat me! Not yet! I won't let it end yet!"

He spoke like a man possessed as he raised his sword and swung again.

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Orochimaru smirked sadistically as the two females were tied up in the dungeons. He turned to the sound Chuunin who was bowing as he awaited orders. "Good, we must prepare now. Uzumaki is already approaching and will arrive in a matter of minutes. Go now!"

The chuunin nodded before vanishing in a puff of smoke.

A smirk began to form on Orochimaru's face but it vanished as he heard a voice directly behind him.

"I'm afraid I cannot allow you to do that!"

Orochimaru turned around and met the blood red eyes of the sharingan that belonged to the one and only Uchiha Itachi.

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Zabuza formed fast paced hand seals **"Suiton: Basukui Shoha!" **He yelled before slamming his fists into the water.

Immediately great explosion's came from the debths and exploded outwards around him making the waters rise fifty to seventy feet sending Kumo and Oto nins flying everywhere.

_Flashback:_

_Zabuza sighed as he stared at the redheaded boy sitting crossleged as he watched the sun set to the west of him. Where Suna was. He absently noted._

_He sighed again before walking up to the young boy. _

_Gaara, for his part didn't even acknowledge the Kiri jounin as he stepped up behind him. _

"_What's eatin ya brat?" The demon of the hidden mist asked with his usual gruff tone._

"_Nothing." The redheaded child spoke flatly._

_Zabuza rolled his eyes before smacking him in the back of the head. "Don't 'nothing' me brat. Something's botherin ya and we're not leavin until you speak."_

_Gaara glared at the older nin but Zabuza matched it with his own._

_Eventually the young demon container let up and turned back to watch the sun set. "I'm just…thinking about my brother and sister." He spoke quietly as he glaned down at his crossed legs._

_Zabuza stared at the young ninja in slight shock. Gaara had never mentioned that he had any siblings as far as he knew. This was a real first. "What of them?"He asked with fake aggression to hide the fact that the kid had caught him off guard._

_Gaara sighed. "I miss them. And I wonder if they miss me." _

_Zabuza shrugged, "Why wouldn't they?" _

"_Because I have Shukaku." Gaara spoke simply._

_Zabuza was once again caught slightly off guard. He never really believed that such a thing could cause your very own family to hate you. He narrowed his eyes slightly._

_Before Gaara could react another impact was felt on the back of his head. His sand not coming up to defend him like normal. "What the hell was that for!"_

_Zabuza glared at him. "Don't be an idiot." He spoke with conviction and firmness but his voice held a strange comforting edge to it. "If their too stupid to see past the fact that you're just different from them then they are not worth your time."_

_With that said he turned and walked away._

_Before he reached the edge of the clearing he turned back and spoke. "You're worth more than that boy. And don't let anyone ever tell you different."_

_Flashback end_

Zabuza winced as a kumo jounin snuck up behind him and delivered a hard kick to his ribs. He felt and heard two of them snap.

He paid it no heed and backhanded the nin in the face breaking his jaw and most likely his neck. He swayed a bit on his feet and felt the warm blood of his stomach wound seep down his leg and spread like a red cloud in the water beneath him.

He hefted his sword into a defensive position and took a stance.

_I wont let it end yet._

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Kakashi groaned as he weakly opened his eyes to discover where he was. The right side of his face was in a shallow puddle. His whole body felt like a block of lead and he could safely say he had probably gotten a concussion and from the burning painful clench in his lungs he had probably nearly died from drowning.

He was in a dark cave or tunnel of some kind. The walls were all damp and moist and and everything was quite dark. So dark he could safely say that if it were not for his still active sharingan he probably wouldn't even be able to see fifteen feet infront of his own face.

A groan from behind him broke through his thoughts. With slow, painful movements he managed to get up on his hands and knees and turned to the sound.

It was the Kumo jinchuriki. He narrowed his eyes and took a deep breath wincing as a pain shot through his chest. Oh yeah, a rib or two were broken.

Still now, wasn't the time to fix that. He slowly stood and took out a rope from his pouch before picking up the girl and tying her hands and feet together while infusing the ropes with chakra to keep the jinchuriki from escaping and stuck ropes between her fingers to stop her handseals. Then with a rope to her ankles she was tied.

As a last measurement he took a kunai and threw it to the ceiling of the tunnel he was in. He grabbed another rope and tied it with the ones on her ankles and strung her up by her feet.

With a shrug he began disarming her.

Kunai, explosive-tags, scrolls, shuriken, some poisons, soldier pills, blood pills, first aid kit. The works. Whoever she was she was well prepared.

With a sigh he flopped down and began mending his broken ribs waiting for his 'hostage' to wake up. He wanted answers.

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Zabuza blocked an Anbu sword strike with Kubikiri before grabbing the man's neck and snapped it. He threw the ninja to the side as he formed more seals. **"Suiton: Goshokusame no jutsu!" **He cried and in seconds dozens of water sharks formed inside of the water and began attacking all of the kumo nin in earnest.

_Flashback:_

_Zabuza watched Haku as he practiced with his ice needles on a targeting dummy._

"_Hey Haku!" Zabuza called to his young student as he noticed the other two weren't around._

_The young boy immediately stopped throwing and turned to face his father figure. "Yes Zabuza-sama?" He asked as he turned around. _

_Zabuza beckoned the young man over, to which he complied. Zabuza looked at Haku for a moment before he spoke. "Haku…I've been meaning to ask you…why was it that you followed me that day? When I met you on the bridge."_

_Haku smiled. "Because you were the only one who bothered to care. You were the only person I could relate to. I saw it when I looked at your eyes. And you saw the same thing in mine. Didn't you?" He stated more than asked the last statement._

_Zabuza said nothing. He remained staring at the young raven haired boy for a good long while. Haku smiled at the older man and went back to his senbon practicing._

_After several minutes of silently watching the young ninja Zabuza turned his gaze to the sky above. "You're a good kid Haku." He spoke softy. "Don't ever change."_

_Flasback end:_

Zabuza fell to one knee as another kunai dug painfully into his right hip. He clenched his teeth as he pulled the weapon out with a quick jerk. Blood oozed down his leg but he ignored it once again. Pure adrenaline and bloodlust kept him going now.

'_Not yet.'_

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The sound nin within the southern fortress of Imakugo all went about their preparations. Their orders were to stall or contain Uzumaki Naruto until Orochimaru was able to spring his trap on the young ninja.

Yet they could literally feel something was wrong. The hairs on the back of their necks rose as a feeling of dread and foreboding entered the pit of their stomachs.

They felt an indescribable fear as a terrible roar was heard throughout the entire compound and a wave of killing intent bathed them all in its terrifying embrace. The watchmen shook with fear as their eyes and heads looked around, frantically searching for whatever was approaching.

"LOOKOUT!" Was yelled just brief moments before a silver blur shot straight down and a loud crash was heard along with the dust cloud.

All of the sound nin immediately rushed over and surrounded the dust cloud waiting for it to clear.

A deafening roar was heard as the dust settled and every ninja was momentarily rendered paralyzed by the sight that greeted them. Their fear vanished however as the beast before them roared again as a stream of flames shot forth from his mouth.

The ninja in the fires path screamed as the searing heat scorched the skin off their very bones leaving nothing but scorched skeletons in its wake.

The rest of the ninja leapt into action and rushed the…whatever it was before them.

Sasuke leapt from atop Naruto already drawing his Kusanagi.

As he landed amongst a group of rushing nins he brought his sword down across the chest of one and quickly delivered a sharp kick to another in the neck. With a fast duck and turn he sliced open another ninja's stomach.

"**Sharingan"** He whispered as his eyes turned red with three coma marks each.

With his eyes he saw as a ninja was going to swing in an attempt to cut off his head. With a short back step the blade passed harmlessly and he swung upward cutting the ninja from his belly button all the way to his chin.

Naruto's tails lashed out, swinging wildly. Hitting the walls with enough force to make them crumble. Crushing ninja and stone alike.

His claws slashing, his fangs biting. Blood bathed the earth in red and flowed like rivers of crimson. Screams echoed from the cold stone walls as the fires danced around them. The embers dancing in the wind.

Naruto's blood red eyes glowed as he towered over the figures below him. His bloodied fangs shined and the orange blow of the setting sun behind him gave him an eretheral appearance.

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Zabuza was slowly backed up to the wall of the broken tower as more and more Kumo nin surrounded him. With a leap he sprung up the wall and latched onto it with chakra. Trying to reach the top of what remained of the tower to distance himself from the ninja.

He could hear the blood pounding in his ears and the strange form of…he wasn't sure what to call it…a mixture of sadness…resolve and…a thrill? He knew he was going to die but he could feel no fear. It was strange.

_Flashback:_

_Zabuza was sitting down drinking his morning sake when three eight year olds walked up to him. He glanced at them with irritation as they simply stared back with wide innocent eyes that really kinda creped him out. "What?"_

_The three boy's looked at each other before Haku spoke up. "Well we were wondering…"_

_Naruto continued where he had trailed off. "Ummm…ahhh…well you see…"  
_

_Zabuza twitched and took a sip of Sake as the boys wouldn't hurry up and get to the point._

_Gaara of course chose that time to speak up in his usual monotone voice. "Where do babies come from?"_

_Zabuza choked and promptly spit out his Sake and turned back to face Gaara and the other two boys with a slightly fearful but very shocked expression on his face. "WHAT!?"_

_The three boys looked at eachother a moment before turning back to him. "Where do babies come from?" They all spoke at the same time._

_Zabuza blinked. "Errrr……ummm…well…I uh…" He stumbled over his own words. 'Okay…I want to make this subtle and delicate so that I don't scar their young minds'_

_With that thought the demon of the hidden mist took out a familiar orange book. "Okay listen up. This story will explain everything so listen carefully."_

_Two hours later._

"_And so Ichigo and Haruka had two sons and a daughter living happily ever after." Zabuza finished his story and turned to look back at the young boys._

_Haku was curled up in the fetal position mumbling under his breath Naruto was covering his bleeding ears and Gaara was wrapped in a cocoon of sand to give his young mind time to heal._

_Zabuza shrugged before turning the page. "Now, chapter two: Sodomy"_

_Flashback end:_

Zabuza reached the top of the torn down tower and he suddenly felt very weak. So much so that he almost lost the grip on his sword. He felt his vision slowly fade into blackness before he righted himself and focused again.

As the Kumo nin climbed up to his position like a swarm of spiders he suddenly knew with great clarity that the very spot that he stood in now would be the spot where he died soon.

His eyes filled with determination as he tightened his grip on his sword.

No matter what, he was going to take as many nins down with him as he possibly could.

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Naruto, back in his human form, looked around the bloody, charred ashes of the courtyard with a cold expression before turning back to Sasuke. "Let's go." Sasuke nodded when an explosion destroyed the front gate of the inner keep making both look over to the spot and take a fighting stance with both of their swords in a defensive position.

From the smoke and ruin slowly emerged the one and only Uchiha Itachi.

Sasuke's eyes widened and rage soon consumed him as he prepared to charge at his brother. But he soon got a better look and halted in his tracks.

Slung over Itachi's shoulder was Kin and under his arm was Ina. Both boys tensed with anger and slight fear seeing that Itachi could now use them as a bargaining chip against them.

Itachi slowly turned his sharingan like eyes to Naruto and then to Sasuke. "Foolish little brother." He chided in his usual way making Sasuke grit his teeth as he was literally seething with rage.

Naruto narrowed his eyes as he tried to think of different ways that would allow him to get both Ina and Kin away from the Akatsuki member but could think of none.

Then to their immense surprise Itachi slowly lowered himself onto one knee and placed both females on the ground as gently as he could.

Both Naruto and Sasuke stood with dumbstruck expressions on their faces as Itachi slowly stood and glanced at both of them before he formed a single seal and his body transformed into a flock of ravens before flying away.

Both teenagers looked at eachother each one had a look of extreme shock plastered all over their faces. Sasuke couldn't even bring himself to think any hateful thoughts of the man since his mind was currently turned to mush.

But they soon snapped out of it and rushed to the object of their pursuit.

Sasuke knelt down next to Kin and lifted her slightly. "Kin…answer me Kin!" The young Uchiha spoke up with just a hint of urgency.

Kin groaned softly as her eyes fluttered open. "What took you so long Uchiha?" She mumbled, only half awake. Sasuke felt his eyebrow twitch in annoyance. "Next time I should just leave you to the snake."

"I'll kick your ass." She mumbled before her face contorted in pain.

Naruto was laying Ina's head against his lap and stared at her with pleading eyes. "Ina. Please wake up."

But alas she would not awaken and Naruto felt something different in his chakra system. A slow feeling of dread started welling up in his gut and he slowly moved her raven black hair away to gaze at her neck.

And their he found it.

A curse seal.

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Orochimaru cursed as his legs gave out beneath him. His breathing was hard and labored. Itachi had caught him completely off guard and had nearly killed him. Were it not for a quick Kawarimi he would most likely be dead. As it was Amateratsu had taken his left arm and Itachi's wakizashi had sliced deep into his right leg.

He coughed up blood and cursed. It was a good thing that he would be able to take another body in just a few weeks.

He suddenly grinned. _"Still with the death of Zabuza the alliance between Konoha and Kiri will be put under pressure and it will fan the flames of war as it gathers the enemies of Konoha against them."  
_

His evil laugher could be heard long after he left the burning fortress.

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Zabuza stood on his last legs. His breathing was labored. His sword was being dragged behind him as he slowly marched forward. His eyes, half lidded and getting blurrier by the second.

His fading heart beat was loud against his ears. The Kumo nin stayed back, all of them having grown to fear the dying man even now.

One chuunin charged forward. Zabuza saw him from the corner of his eye and swung with the little remaining strength that he had. The chuunin, who did not expect Zabuza to have any strength left took the hit square in the chest. He fell over with a dull thud.

_Flashback: _

_Zabuza walked through the forest of demons searching for the three young boys. He had told them that he had to finish some of his own training that day and told them to go do whatever they wanted. _

_So now he was looking for the three of them in the middle of a pitch black forest, after he had done six hours of intensive training. He was dead tired and now he had to find the three brats who had apparently decided to go to the farthest reaches of this demonic forest just to spite him. _

_In his annoyance he almost missed the three distinct yet faint chakra signatures to his right. His eyes widened and a bit of fear entered him. Their chakra signatures were weak too weak!_

_With a burst of speed Zabuza closed the distance between them in an instant. _

_As he entered the clearing lined with craters, with trees scared deeply with gashes. It looked to be in complete ruins. His eyes scanned the area and he immediately found his three targets. All passed out and sleeping soundly. _

_The worry vanished, replaced with relief. They had apparently exhausted themselves in training. That's why their chakra signatures were so weak. He had to chuckle to himself. Two years ago if anyone would have told him that he'd be worried about three brats he would have lobed their heads off in less time than what it took to breathe. _

_He shook his head before slinging Naruto over his shoulder and the other two under his arm. _

_"Lets go home brats." He muttered before setting off back to the tree house. _

_Flasback end: _

Zabuza continued on his linear walk again at a sluggish pace. His body felt like a block of lead but he wouldn't let that stop him. He suddenly stumbled forward and used his blade as a support to hold himself up, the additional weight against the already damaged structure gave way slightly and his sword was stabbed about four inches in.

Zabuza then turned slightly and saw the sun finally beginning to set on the horrison.

The highest part of the sky was pale blue, like the deepest sea, the clouds just above the sun were a soft brownish color and the sun itself was bright orange.

The colors reminded him of Haku, Gaara and Naruto he let a small smile form on his face. "Live on and be strong" He whispered before a Kumo nin launched a high powered ration jutsu.

He narrowed his eyes before giving off one final cry of defiance as the ration jutsu hit and with one last explosion the Demon of the Hidden Mist was no more.

As the Kumo nins saw that their prey had finally fallen they each took a moment to relax. As one brave jounin moved forward to grasp Zabuza's sword an Anbu stopped him.

"Stop!"

The jounin turned back with a look of confusion on his face. "What's wrong Himura-san" The jounin asked as the Anbu with a red sparrows mask stepped forward.

"Leave his sword here." The Anbu spoke with seriousness.

"Why?"

The Anbu stared at the sword a few more moments before replying. "Because…this sword represents his spirit. His defiance. His unwillingness to back down and his skill. His sword stands tall and proud as did the man that wielded it."

With those words the Kumo Anbu turned and left the final battlefield of the Demon of the Hidden Mist

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Well tell me what you think. I hope I did well on this. This chapter was actually supposed to cover Kakashi's little adventure with the Nibi along with Naruto and Sasuke's fight but as I said the last part of the last chapter was a bit lacking. So please tell me what you think. I'd really appreciate it

Also I would like to hear opinions on what Gaara and Naruto's reactions should be. I got to many ideas and I can't decide which would work best so I was thinking that perhaps some others opinions would help me narrow it down so I could decide easier.

Anyway read and review.


	50. Embracing Chaos

Hmmmmmmm.

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The Kiri ninja in the assembly hall all parted ways as an injured Kiri chuunin made his way down the hall towards where the Mizukage was addressing a few of the border patrol.

As he reached the doors and parted them the wooden structures gave a loud creak making Haku pause mid sentence as his head snapped up at the man.

The chuunin staggered forward into the hall. "Mizukage-sama." The man rasped out as blood dribbled down his chin.

As he saw the man he had run for almost three days to see his legs suddenly felt very weak. He staggered forward but his strength wasn't there anymore and his knees buckled.

Before he hit the ground, Sakura, who was in the room managed to catch him. "Get a stretcher in here now!" She yelled as she began healing the man. "Rest now, you'll be fine." She whispered to him.

With a sudden clarity the man remembered his message. "N-no! Mizukage-sama must be told!" He cried out hoarsely.

Haku, seeing that he was the one the man wanted to find immediately rushed over and placed a gentle hand on the mans chest. "Please, sir you must let Sakura heal you. Whatever information you have for me can wait until you are healed."

The man glanced at him before grasping his white Mizukage coat. "My lord…Kumo has…betrayed us!" He said loud enough for most to hear.

That simple statement was like a thunderclap in the background. Everyone was shocked into dead silence and Haku could feel himself gaping at the man. He turned to Sakura who had an equally startled look in her eyes. Indeed the only two who did not seem shocked was the dying man who had relayed the news and Kotaro. The wizened Blue Dragon of Kiri who had previously gone unnoticed in the room.

The man's next sentence however was far worse.

"During the assault on Washizu, they attacked from the rear, surrounding General Zabuza."

Haku felt tremendous fear well up in his chest and his eyes for once held true terror and desperation. He grabbed the man by the shoulders and shook him slightly "What happened? Where is Zabuza?"

"Haku stop!" Sakura cried as he shook the man.

The chuunin coughed up more blood before he managed to strangle out. "He…fell…" Before finally passing out, his head falling to the side.

Haku stopped dead. His eyes wide with shock. He was trembling and he barely noticed as the medics took the man away on the stretcher.

Everything faded into blackness he barely noticed as he stood and shock his head while whispering. "It cant be" It was as if he was watching his body move on its own accord. Everything felt so surreal now. Like he was trapped between being awake and asleep.

He felt cold, detached and alone.

Then a single name entered his mind. Kumo.

He felt anger bubbling up from his chest like a great cauldron of boiling water.

Sakura, Kotaro and the rest of the ninja all looked visibly shocked and saddened by the news. Zabuza had been Kotaro's student and Sakura's friend. He had become almost a distant uncle to the girl with the amount of time she had spent in Kiri. To the rest of the Anbu and ninja Zabuza had become a sort of figure head of courage since because of his coup the Kiri ninja could live in relative peace. Unlike the last regime.

The Anbu all silently removed their masks in a show of both mourning and respect.

Everyone was brought out of their thoughts at the sound of Haku's voice.

It was hard. It carried a deadly edge and possessed a barely concealed rage that was furiously thrashing beneath the surface.

"I want every available ninja gathered in two hours outside the tower."

Every ninja in attendance looked up to the young Kage and felt themselves reeling from shock. Haku's normally warm and carrying eyes were now cold ice pits of raging fury that threatened to consume all in their gaze.

Haku ignored all of them and began walking out the door.

Sakura and Kotaro seeing him beginning to take his leave knew that Haku was going to attack Kumo with absolutely everything he had. And they knew that this would simply do more harm than good. If he walked out that door they would never be able to convince him otherwise.

Sakura was the first to reach him and she placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Haku…please wait, we should focus on Oto for the moment…" She trailed off as Haku turned his cold eyes on her. He continued moving forward until Kotaro stood before him. "Defeat Oto my lord and Kumo will have no choice, other than to surrender. Please, I beg of you to reconsider this." He bowed his head slightly towards the end.

But Haku heard none of it. He briskly walked past the older man and continued on his way. The only thought in his mind was one simple objective.

Destroy Kumo.

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Two days earlier

The first ting Yugito could make out as her vision returned to her was the prone form of Kakashi as he sat while leaning against the wall of the tunnel. She knew she was upside down and had been for quite some time if the numbness in her feet ankles and legs was any indication.

She tried to move but only managed to elicit a groan of pain from her throat, making Kakashi aware of her conscious state.

"Ahh, so you're awake." He stated in an unusually cold voice as he stood and walked ver to her.

Yugito coughed weakly. Her throat felt dry and her body felt weak and her head hurt. She glanced up, or down…er whatever at the single red eye of the sharingan that stared back at her unblinking.

Kakashi suddenly leaned in very close. The action looking quite strange from both points of view as she was hung upside down. "Now…do you mind explaining why Kumo has decided to betray the alliance and join Orochimaru's Oto nins?" He asked.

Yugito gulped. The man was very intimidating, especially now with the sharingan eye seemingly glowing in the dark of the tunnel.

Never the less she kept quiet.

"You know…" He began almost casually. "I could easily leave you to rot in here. So if you want to survive then I suggest you start talking."

Yugito was torn. On one hand was her self preservation drive and the fact that Katsu was looking to get his sister back as quickly as possible to begin peace works with Suna, Kiri and Konoha, as well as turn his blade on the snakes neck. This might actually help Kumo out in the long run and it would save her from starving to death since she could feel the man had not left a single weapon on her.

"Allright I'll talk."

Kakashi had to refrain from raising his eyebrows in surprise. And here he was thinking for three straight hours about different ways to put Ibiki to shame. Mou, some other time then.

"Good" He spoke up with cold amusement and took a step back.

Yugito sighed. "Allright Orochimaru kidnapped the Raikage's sister…"

"WHAT!? YOU DON'T MEAN INA DO YOU?" The copy nin nearly yelled at the girl as he stared in complete shock.

Yugito nodded, which still looked strange since she was upside down. "Yeah, he's holding her for ransom and threatening to kill her should Katsu refuse one of his 'requests' for military assistance."

Kakashi's sharingan eye leered at her. Slowly breaking down her entire body language and facial expressions. Anything and everything that could discern if she was lying. He found no signs and so he slowly gave his consent. "Fine. What were your orders on this specific mission?"

Yugito glanced back at him. "Kill Momochi Zabuza or deliver him to Oto custody."

Kakashi nodded and gave a silent hmm of thought.

After several seconds Yugito ahemed forcing Kakashi out of his thoughts. "I answered your questions, so could you at least bring me down? I cant feel my legs."

Kakashi blinked before he took a kunai and tossed it at the rope, slicing neatly.

Yugito twisted herself in mid air and landed in a crouch, resembling the very cat that was imprisoned within her being. She looked around curiously as she moved her legs, trying to get the feeling back in them. "So where exactly are we?" She asked.

Kakashi turned to her with tha familiar lazy glance. "Well…quite frankly…I have no idea." He stated bluntly making her face fault.

"What do you mean you have no idea?" She asked with barely masked disbelief.

Kakashi shrugged. "Well the way I see it since neither one of us knows where the hell we are I propose a truce until we get out of here." He extended his hand to her. In all reality if he had another teammate with him she would be his prisoner. But keeping a prisoner on your own while in unfamiliar territory was not only dangerous but foolhardy.

Yugito was also thinking about the same things and after a short moment of deliberation she accepted his offer and they both stood.

Kakashi silently handed back her weapons and equipment pouch before turning to the only exit and passageway. "Shall we?"

Yugito nodded as she strapped her weapon pouch on and they walked side by side, neither wanting the other to be behind them.

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Naruto angrily paced up and down the hallways of the hospital. He had rushed to Konoha as soon as he found the curse seal on Ina's neck. Transforming again to increase his speed, only letting up when he was just out of human vision range. He then carried the girl as Sasuke carried Kin all the way to the hospital.

Sasuke watched the blond pace up and down with his agitation increasing dramatically. "Will you stop pacing!" He asked heatedly after a few more minutes of his pacing. But he was immediately shut up as a flame whip lashed out and nearly lobed off his head.

Naruto glared at the Uchiha before resuming his pacing. He was anxious, one didn't have to be a shinobi to see that. Not only was his constant pacing giving it away but also the way his eyes shifted to red every few minutes.

It was putting the Uchiha on edge.

Naruto suddenly stopped pacing and turned to Sasuke. "Hey Sasuke, why do you think Itachi…" He trailed off.

Sasuke shook his head silently. Even though just the thought of his brother would get him into a fit of rage right now however he was just confused. Itachi had not only left without even trying to fight them but he had _'helped' _them. To say his emotions on the mater were more jumbled than fruits in a blender was like saying the Hokage could lift a chair. HUGE UNDERSTATEMENT!

The door to the room opened and Tsunade stepped through. Both teenagers immediately stood up straighter and turned to her.

Tsunade looked at both boys and sighed. "Kin is fine. She suffered a fractured vertebra but I was able to repair the damage. She should take it easy for about a month or two to ensure a full recovery. Ina however…" She trailed off slightly and Naruto's eyes flashed a dangerous shade of red. "The curse seal Orochimaru placed on her is different from the ones we've seen from her so far. It's poisoning her chakra system I don't know how to stop it. The only thing I can think of is killing Orochimaru, but none of us know where he is right now."

Red wisps of chakra started rolling off Naruto in waves, his red tinted eyes flashed to Tsunade. "How long does she have?" He asked in a voice that was slightly deeper than normal.

Tsunade sighed. "I'm not sure. But at the rate the curse seal is poisoning her I would say six to eight months."

Naruto's eyes darkened before he made his way past her and into the room.

Sasuke and Tsunade shared a brief glance before he too entered the room.

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It was four days later before Naruto and Sasuke returned to the command center of Konoha's forces.

As they entered the main tent a deathly silence followed their entrance as all of the high ranking ninja stared at them with shock and confusion.

After a few seconds of this silent shock Naruto grew irritated. "What?"

Shikamaru pulled himself out of his stupor and turned back to Naruto. "What do you mean what!? You two, along with Kakashi and Kin have been missing since the betrayal at Washizu! Where the hell have you two been?" He asked with urgency.

Naruto and Sasuke glanced at each other with confusion clearly visible on their faces. "What the hell are you talking about!? What betrayal at Washizu?" Naruto asked as he stepped towards the pineapple haired jounin.

Shikamaru looked visibly startled. "You mean you don't know? Kumo joined Oto and led a surprise attack on Washizu during Kiri's final assault on the fortress. They killed Momochi Zabuza and captured many of the Kirin nin in the process. The Mizukage himself has gathered the rest of the ninja of his army and has led them in a full campaign against Kumo." The strategist gave a brief crash course of the events of the last week.

Naruto stood completely still slowly taking in the information. For once, he couldn't bring up any one of his masks to guard his expressions. The mental and emotional stress of the last few days were finally catching up to him. He didn't even notice when his arm grabbed onto a nearby chair to support himself up.

The shock and anger at the fact that Orochimaru had taken Ina. The fear that came with the knowledge of Orochimaru's curse seal on her. And now this…this…emptiness.

Zabuza was dead.

It just seemed so…impossible! He had just seen the man grinning and gruff as usual just a week ago…and he was now dead?

It couldn't be.

His hand clutched his chest where an ache grew over his heart like a balm.

Orochimaru!

His eyes darkened and bleed into a deep red. That bastard had used him. He had used Ina to lure him away from the fight so that he wouldn't be able to stop the Kumo assault.

He knew that Naruto was going to rescue Ina when he caught up. But by then the damage was already done. Haku was going to continue his assaults on Kumo in order to avenge Zabuza meaning that Kumo would continue fighting on Orochimaru's side, so to speak since it would continue to draw Haku's attention away from sound thus leaving Konoha and Suna.

So now Katsu had no choice but to defend against Kiri since Haku was most likely not going to listen to reason.

And not only that with Kumo 'appearing' to be backing Oto Iwa would soon join Oto as well with its long time rivalry with Konoha still there and that would likely draw Suna's attention away from the sound front leaving Konoha to defeat sound.

This was evolving into the next great war very quickly.

Naruto gritted his teeth and his anger fueled his power. His claws lengthened, as did his fangs. His eyes went completely red and the chair splintered where he was gripping it.

A Konoha messenger walked in. "Sir's we have captured an Oto officer in the last raid. What are our orders?"

"**Leave him to me." **Naruto's dark demonic voice reached everyone's ears making everyone take a step back out of pure fear. Those close enough could practically feel the heat radiating off of the blond jinchuriki.

Naruto turned around. His blood red eyes leaving the faint glow of after images making everyone give a small shiver. His red chakra slowly turned black and his usual dark aura surrounded him. **"Where is the prisoner?"  
**

The chuunin backed away with terror in his eyes. "H-he-he's in…in the-eh-interogators tent."

Without a word Naruto walked past the man and out the command tent making everyone, even Sasuke give off a sigh of relief.

None however were able to sleep as terrifying screams of pain were heard throughout the entire night.

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Gaara sat in his office filing through papper work as the door to his office was blown open by his puppet wielding brother Kankuro, as he practically rushed into the room looking frantic. "GAARA!" He yelled as he hastily bowed.

Gaara raised a single eyebrow at his brother and that was the only outward expression of his surprise. Usually Kankuro was very respectful, always calling him Kazekage-sama while they were in public and only calling him by his name in private. The fact that he was doing this was a cause in itself to worry.

Kankuro struggled to catch his breath. "Kaekage-sama, Kumo…Kumo has...Kumo has betrayed us and joined Oto my lord!" Kankuro managed gasp out between pants.

Gaara immediately stood up, his eyes looking wide and his mouth slightly opened. "What did you say?"

"That's not all my lord!" Kankuro continued. "During an assault on the eastern fortress of Washizu they surrounded and killed Momochi Zabuza." Kankuro himself winced at the blunt way he delivered the message. He didn't dare look up at his younger brothers gaze, fear of what he would find kept him at bay. Until finally curiosity won out and he stole a peak.

He wished he hadn't.

Gaara's face was contorted with fury as his fists trembled and clenched.

Before Kankuro had a chance to comprehend he was roughly thrown into the wall with a resounding smack and sand covered him from head to toe. He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth. He couldn't believe he was about to die.

Gaara suddenly appeared two inches infront of him. His hood covered his entire face in shadows. Only his glowing eyes shone behind the hood. "You lie." He practically snarled at the Suna puppet master as his fist twitched making the sand tighten around the puppet user.

Kankuro gulped. "GAARA PLEASE I SWEAR IT'S THE TRUTH!" He yelled, his fear for his life overcoming his dignity.

Gaara growled.

Before he could clench his fist a kunai whizzed by and nipped him in the cheek he turned to see Tenten's serious expression. "Gaara stop!" Tenten said sternly. She had heard the entire conversation as she eavesdropped on them.

Gaara snarled and with a final flick of his wrist Kankuro sailed across the room and slammed into the adjacent wall and Gaara vanished in a swirl of sand.

Tenten rushed to Kankuro, who was rubbing his sore head. "Are you okay?" She asked with concern. Kankuro groaned as he absently nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine." He took a brief moment to look outside of the balcony. "But the rest of Suna isn't." He declared grimly. Tenten followed his gaze and visibly gasped.

There just beyond the gates was the largest sand storm anyone had ever seen. It stood over 100 feet tall and continued on to the horizon.

An unearthly roar echoed from the wall of sand.

Tenten leaned on the railing of the balcony, seemingly exhausted. "God help us" Kankuro whispered from behind her.

'_I think even he'd have trouble this time.' _Tenten thought as she looked back at the great sand storm before her.

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After the death of Zabuza the entire Suna/Kono/Kiri offensive was brought to a screeching halt. Kiri soon withdrew its forces and began a relentless assault on the borders of Kumo.

Iwa, seeing another of the shinobi powers assisting Oto predictably went to assist Oto as well and was now threatening the northern borders of Suna, forcing Temari to pull back from her assault in order to guard the borders of her country.

Konoha, having lost both of its allies was forced to spread their lines to cover the areas that Suna and Kiri had formerly occupied, stopping them from continuing their assault on the battered sound forces.

Ame and Kusa, both old enemies of Konoha immediately sent forces to assist Oto cover what remained of its borders. However Orochimaru, beeing the snake that he is assassinated the entire leadership of both of the smaller villages, disguising himself and his Oto nins as leaf's.

As a result the entire Ame and Kusa territories integrated themselves into Oto, increasing the nations manpower and territory as well as economic income, effectively bringing the dying nation back to the brink of destruction. Its power was now great enough to be called a greater hidden village officially granting Orochimaru the title of Otokage. Effectively bringing birth to the first greater shinobi village for the first time in over 150 years.

Konoha vs. Oto

Kiri vs. Kumo

Suna vs. Iwa

The pieces have been moved and now the third great shinobi war is about to begin.

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Meanwhile, in an ancient forest hidden deep in the south, two pairs of eyes opened for the first time in over eighteen years

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Mwahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha behold the beloved plot structure I have been building up to since day one!!!

Tell me what you think please


	51. So it begins

It's been a while eh?

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Two figures slowly made there way towards the looming walls of the hidden leaf village. Each wore silver cloaks that even with the dusty dirt road still looked impeccable. The soft silk seemed to flow like a moving river. It billowed down the bottom, trailing behind them.

Each cloak was hooded and possessed two foxes in the back of them.

They both stopped about twenty meters from the gate. "It's nice to be home, isn't it?" Asked a male voice.

"I never even expected to return home so yes it is very good to be home." Replied a female in a soft silky voice.

The male turned slightly. "I never thought I'd see the day they would have Tsunade's face up on that mountain." He said with a wistful tone.

"Yeah, I remember she was always pretty stubborn about not staying here for too long during her visits."

They both fell into what seemed like a comfortable silence.

Finally the male broke it. "Come on. Lets speak to Tsunade and find him. I wonder how he's grown."

The female nodded and the two continued their march into the village of the hidden leaves.

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Tsunade looked up from her paper work as Shizune entered her office. "What is it Shizune?" She asked with exasperation.

The raven haired woman spoke formally as she bowed to her mentor. "Tsunade-sama two people are here to see you. They say they are important messengers but refuse to state where they came from."

Tsunade remained quiet for a moment before she finally spoke up again. "Send them in."

Shizune bowed and left. Moments later the silver cloaked individuals entered.

"What can I do for you today?" She asked as she leaned back in her chair.

"Hey Tsunade why are you in my chair?"

Tsunade gasped and felt her eyes go as wide as they possibly could. That voice! It couldn't possibly be…He was supposed to be dead.

"Arashi don't be rude!" The woman chided playfully.

Tsunade snapped her head to the second voice. Both of them…they couldn't be…

Slowly the two figures removed their cloaks, revealing bright blond hair and fiery redish/orange.

Tsunade felt her knees go weak and her breath catch in her throat.

"Hey Tsunade. It's been a while." Arashi said as he smiled.

That hair, those eyes, that smile. It really was him.

As the realization sunk in Tsunade, worlds greatest medic nin and fifth fire shadow of Konohagakure promptly fainted.

'Tsunade!" Arashi said with mild alarm. Shani merely chuckled softly. "Don't worry Arashi she's fine."

Both occupants in the room turned at the sound of the door creaking open rather slowly. And in entered Sarutobi, The Sandaime Hokage, in normal civilian robes, wearing a soft smile that warmed considerably as he settled his old weary eyes on the long dead Hokage and his wife. "I knew I sensed a familiar presence." The old man spoke smiling even more.

"SARUTOBI-JIJI!" Arashi cried with a wide smile and his arms outstrached as he rushed forward and hugged the old man. Sarutobi laughed delightedly as he softly patted the younger male on the back.

Arashi pulled back and looked at the old man up and down. "You got even more wrinkly!" He exclaimed.

And was driven straight into the marble floor, courtesy of Shani's fist as she decked him right in the back of the head. "DON'T BE AN IDIOT!" She yelled with an embarrassed flush on her cheeks.

Sarutobi openly laughed at the display. "It warms my heart to see such a familiar display."

Shani smiled pleasantly and moved forward and gave the old Sandaime a kiss on the cheek. "It's nice to see you again Sarutobi-Ji"

Sarutobi smiled and hugged the woman. "Like wise my dear." He spoke and then finally noticed his unconscious student. "I see you have already seen Tsunade." He spoke with a laugh.

Arashi stood and rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, I didn't expect her to faint though."

Sarutobi chuckled. "Well that is what usually happens when you see someone who has been dead for the last eighteen years."

"I don't think I understand." Shani spoke as she sat. "If we were dead then how are we here now? We really wanted to get back so we kinda didn't give the demons in the forest much time to explain everything."

Sarutobi chuckled heartily. "Desperate to see Naruto are you?" Shani blushed and looked away and Arashi scratched the back of his head rather sheepishly.

Sarutobi gave another chuckle. "Understandable. But I suppose I should explain. Basically, apart from Naruto and myself every human in the Shinobi world thinks you are dead. Jiraiya, Tsunade and Hihashi know about his heritage but the both of you are thought to be long dead."

Arashi nodded. "I see. Old man, what can you tell us about him, Naruto I mean?"

Sarutobi gave a wistful smile. He is a lot like you. "Stubborn, hard headed, jumps into a fight head first without thinking, strong as hell, with luck to boot. You know, the stupid part." Sarutobi chuckled at Arashi's angry glare.

"Did he get anything from me?" Shani asked.

Sarutobi smiled at her. "Oh yes. He is kind, proud, can look into the very depths of a persons heart and find the goodness in them, can think up brilliant tactics in the middle of a fight and knows how to use his skills to their fullest potential."

Shani beamed while Arashi grumbled.

"Hey Old man, just wondering here, but how exactly did Naruto find out we were alive?" Arashi asked.

Sarutobi grimaced slightly and then heaved a sigh. "Arashi, Shani, I suggest you take a deep breath, because the tale I will tell you now, is a long and painful one."

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At the end of his tale Sarutobi stared at the two of them with apologetic eyes. "I am sorry my friends. I failed you." The third spoke softly as he bent his head down in shame.

Arashi was slowly took a deep breath. "I expected something like this to happen. But never to such an extent."

Shani, who was holding her head with her right hand and her left fist clenched in a white knuckled grip. "Why didn't Hihashi and Suzume take him? Did they share the opinions of others?"

Sarutobi spoke up. "No, after you had left and I saw Hihashi make no move to adopt Naruto I had placed a few wires in the Hyuuga household and kept him under surveillance. It appears as if he did move to adopt Naruto but at the last minute the Hyuuga council interfered. Stopping him and Suzume from making any contact with Naruto. Since then it has been sort of a civil/cold war within the hyuuga house hold between Hihashi and the council. And though from some reports it appears Hihashi has managed to get some headway against them in recent years. Coincidentally, at the same time Naruto had taken on a gennin team with young Hanabi. Hihashi and Suzume's second daughter."

Shani slowly relaxed with this new piece of information. She felt relieved that one of her closest friends had not betrayed them. "I see. Thank you Oji-san."

Sarutobi slowly shook his head. "No, I owe it to the both of you." He slowly stood and opened the balcony door. He stepped aside and looked at the two. "Now then. I believe you two have a Son near rice country who would like to meet you." He spoke with a small smile.

Shani and Arashi looked at eachother. "But what about Tsunade?" Arashi asked.

Sarutobi waved him off. "I will deal with Tsunade. Now go. This is a reunion long delayed and should not be put off for anything." The old Hokage spoke with a benign smile on his face.

The two looked at each other again before bright smiles crossed their faces and they rushed out the balcony door.

Sarutobi sighed softly as he took out his pipe and settled himself in to wait for Tsunade to awaken.

He smiled softly. _'They have returned. Trully, now I can leave this world a happy man.' _He thought to himself as he continued waiting.

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Tenten watched the seemingly solid wall of sand infront of her. The sand storm had been going for four days straight and still showed no signs of slowing. If this kept up the village would suffer badly. Everything from water to trade routs went through this road and with the sand storm it would be impossible for anything to get through.

She took a deep breath and threw a scarf over her shoulder and around her face along with some eyewear to protect herself.

"You're not actually thinking about going in there are you?"

Tenten spun around and came face to face with Baki's serious expression. "Yeah, of course I am. If I can find Gaara I might just be able to help him calm down. If this keeps up then theres a strong chance that all of Suna will die of either, disease, starvation or dehydration."

Baki gave a frustrated sigh. "Look Tenten I get what you're saying but going in there is suicide. Ten thousand miles of raging sand storm desert and you're going in alone to try and find one guy. Its impossible without the sand storm. You'll need ten miracles and a god to find him with the storm."

Tenten sighed. "It's the only plan I got and its better than just sitting around here waiting to die.

Baki sighed before throwing her two extra water canteens. "If you get killed I'll spit on your grave." He spoke seriously.

Tenten laighed lightly. "Do that and I'll send you one of my special kunai tosses from beyond the grave." Baki winced as he remembered that specific Kunai toss to Kankuro a few years back. The boy couldn't walk for a month.

Tenten put up her scarf and her goggles and with a deep breath walked into the raging desert with a determined gaze.

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Sakura sighed as she sat down in her tent staring at the desk that was overflowing with battle plans, defensive and offensive strategies, garrisons both enemy and allied, trade routes, supply routes. Anything and everything Haku could use to attack Kumo.

This wasn't good. Even if they managed to win the war the losses could escalate to the point where Kiri would never be able to operate as a hidden village again. Not only that but Haku's blind anger had closed him off to any form of peace agreement or even a plea for surrender.

She sighed again and it was at this time Kotaro decided to enter her tent.

The blue dragon of Kiri looked to the large stack of scrolls and papers on her desk. "You have been keeping yourself entertained I see." He muttered running one hand over his old white beard.

Sakura snorted. "What do you want, I'm not in the mood."

Kotaro slowly made his way across the room and took a seat. "This is simple Sakura, we must get Haku-sama to listen to reason before Kiri is thrown into yet another of its dark ages."

Sakura sighed. "I know I know but what the hell can we do? He's barely even listening to me anymore."

Kotaro ran a hand through his beard again. "A snapping turtle can lie in wait for days, even months waiting for the right opportunity. We will simply have to wait for ours."

Sakura groaned and threw her head back. "But you forgot to mention that some snapping turtles actually grow so weak during their wait that when the right opportunity arrives they often do not have the strength to seize it."

Kotaro's gaze darkened.

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"Gaara! GAARA! WHERE ARE YOU DAMNIT!" Tenten cried over the howling winds of the sand storm.

She held her cloak close to her. Night was falling and it was getting cold. Too cold. "Please Gaara" She whispered hoping against hope that he would hear her.

A sand stone, that had been lodged from the ground because of the strong winds sailed through the air with great speed. Tenten only managed to catch a brief flash of it in her peripheral vision before the stone hit her in the right temple and shattered.

She slowly fell to the soft sand as everything went black.

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Kakashi yawned lazily as he slowly oppened his eye. "Is it morning already?" He asked with his usual casualness.

Yugito's eye twitched in annoyance "How the hell am I supposed to know. WERE UNDER-FUCKING-GROUND!!!" She yelled at the leaf Jounin. She didn't know what it was but this guy just got under her skin the wrong way.

Kakashi gave a lazy Hmmm before taking out an empty scroll and used a small Katon jutsu. He then rummaged through his pouch and found a fresh looking piece of meat. "Ahhh, breakfast!" He said cheerily. For four days the two had merely been eating the rations they each had. Now that the rations were gone he had to cook.

Yugito looked at the piece of meat hungrily. "Where did you get that?"

"My pouch," Kakashi answered simply.

"So you always carry a raw pice of meat in your pouch?"

"It's a good luck charm"

Yugito sweat dropped. "Riiiiiiiigggghhhhhtttttt"

The meat slowly cooked and when it was finally done Kakashi skewered it on a kunai and handed a pice to the Kumo jounin. "Here ya go."

Yugito took the food a little warily. And then with a tentative bite tasted it. Her eyes lit up in joy before she bit into it again. "You know. If you keep cooking like this. Its gone be really difficult to hate you." She joked.

"Would it help if I said you smelled like three week old Sushi."

BANG!

She decked him and sent him crashing headfirst through solid granite, knocking him unconscious.

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Tenten slowly awoke from the realm of darkness and saw Gaara's cloaked form sitting infront of her with his back to her. He was staringa t the spear he had used in battle so often. Simply sitting there staring at it.

She then noticed something.

There was no wind.

She looked around and noticed that Gaara was in the very eye of the storm. The sands and wind swirled around him but left him untouched. It was almost surreal.

Still. She came here to stop that very storm and the only way she could see doing this was through Gaara.

She slowly picked herself up, ignoring the throbbing sensation in her temple and made her way towards him.

"Gaara?" She called out tentatively when she was but two feet behind him.

No answer.

She walked closer and knelt right next to him. "Gaara, please talk to me." She pleaded with him.

It was silent for several minutes before he finally spoke. "He was the one who taught me how to use that spear." He said, almost as if he wasn't even there.

"Gaara?"

"He…he was…he was everything my father wasn't. He cared for us…protected us…helped us…and now he's gone."

Tenten gasped as a slow tear slowly trailed down Gaara's cheek. Though his expression hadn't changed, his voice was thicker with emotion. Almost as if he was going to choke.

"I wasn't even there…I wasn't even there to help him." His shoulders were visibly shaking now and it scared Tenten to see him so…so…vulnerable. It was as if the armor and cloak had been removed and had revealed the man beneath.

He had always been the strong one. The indomitable Kage of Sunagakure that would crush all who dared challenge him or his brothers, no questions asked.

And now…he was…he was…

A boy…a simple young man…just like the rest of the world. He had vulnerabilities…chinks in his solid armor.

The young Kage slowly raised his hand to his chest, where his heart was. "Why? Why does it hurt so much?" Tears trailed freely down his cheeks now, falling off his face and sinking into the ground below.

Tenten slowly placed a hand on his shoulder. "You loved him Gaara. When you lose someone you love it always hurts." She said trying to comfort him.

"Make it stop." His tone was something she had never heard before in his voice. Pleading.

She locked eyes with his diamond yellow ones and felt her heart tear itself apart. His eyes were nearly begging her. The pain and anguish in them were almost tangible.

She slowly wrapped her arms around him and hugged him close to her. "It will be allright Gaara." She spoke softly.

And it was at that point in the desert beneath the Suna sun in the middle of a sand storm that Sabaku no Gaara, Fith wind shadow of Sunagakure openly wet for the only person in his life who truly deserved the title of Father.

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Naruto flew through the sky's of rice country. His glowing silvery wings flapping gently in the wind propelling him forward. "And so it begins." He muttered to himself as he glided through the air.

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Itachi watched the blond ninja fly over the plains of rice country before softly muttering to himself. "Indeed it does." He muttered before his body slowly dissolved into black feathers.

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Here's a new chap tell me what you think.


	52. The winds of war

Hi guys, It's been a LOOOOONNNNNGGGGG time since I updated this fic hasn't it?

Reason I took so long is because I wasn't really inspired for this. That and the fact that I didn't really know how to make the reunion go. Since thinking and waiting isn't working, I'm just gonna wing-it and hope everything turns out okay.

Anyway…lets get on with the story.

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There were few things in this world that could annoy one Hatake Kakashi. He could probably count them in one hand.

The first thing that annoyed him was people who didn't like Icha Icha. The second was people who insulted Icha Icha. The third was people who said he shouldn't read Icha Icha, The fourth were people that tried to harm his Icha Icha and the last were people that tried to take his Icha Icha.

But now…now he had to add a sixth to that list…no let him correct himself…This did not annoy him…it positively INFURIATED HIM!!!!

The sixth was…having to travel with someone who didn't like Icha Icha, who had insulted Icha Icha, who said he shouldn't read Icha Icha, someone who had tried and SUCCEDED in harming his Icha Icha.

This person was none other than the cloud kunoichi and sealer of the two tailed cat Yugito.

Ohhh how he hated that name………….It had become the very bane of his existence this past week and a half. Well……he thought it was a week…couldn't really tell since they were underground.

BUT STILL back on point…Yugito…that name was now on his textbook definition of EVIL!!!! He didn't know how it happened. One second his book was safely in his hands, being red as it should have always been the next it was…was…

Oh god he couldn't even say it. It hurt just to think about it…that was the prized limited-gold edition of volume 32…how can such evil exist?

He turned his head slightly to glare at the back of the woman's head as she walked ahead of him… "I…Hate…You." He ground out slowly.

Yugito lazily turned her head back as she heard his voice and grinned a grin that made her look just like the cat she had sealed within her. "That's what you get for giggling like an idiot while were both trapped in an unknown region."

Kakashi glared.

"Besides I really don't know why you read that perverted stuff."

He silently grasped a kunai.

"Its just a bunch of smut anyway."

He took the knife out of his pouch.

"They should probably just burn the whole series."

He threw the kunai.

Yugito stopped just as a ninja fell from the roof with a dull thump right at her feet a kunai lodged in his skull.

"You were trying to drop him on me weren't you?" Yugito asked as she turned to him with a glare firmly in place.

"What was your first clue?" He ground out as he moved and turned the man around. He then saw the small gleam of a sound forehead protector.

'So the rumors were true." Yugito said as she knelt down to examine the body.

'What rumors were those?" Kakashi asked as he raised an eyebrow.

"That sound had some hidden tunnels under rice country." She answered. "Kumo always suspected it, but we never really believed it."

Kakashi caught a soldier pill she had tossed him and pocketed it. "So we're beneath rice country." He said as he looked around. "With this guy's death, there gonna know were here in a few hours when he doesn't report back. We have to be extra careful from now on."

She nodded and stood before wiping herself free of dirt. "Well, we're not doing anything standing around here.' She declared before beginning her walk again.

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The people of Suna each sighed and cheered in relief as finally after seven days and seven nights the sand storm around Suna finally dissipated. Word of Kumo's betrayal and the reason for their Kage's rage soon spread through the village. The people were incensed towards the betrayal and could understand Gaara's anger.

Nevertheless few more fanatical and power hungry shinobi had tried to seize power during Gaara's absence, using propaganda and hate mongering speeches to sway the masses.

Fortunately Kankuro, Baki and many of Gaara's loyalist factions brought their operations to a screeching halt with some……repercussions.

Now all they had to do was wait for their Kaekage to return.

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Their wait would not be very long Gaara was barely a mile from his home. He could arrive there in an instant but he did not want to jostle the precious cargo that currently resided in his arms.

His golden, diamond like eyes turned to her peacefully sleeping form. She was clearly exhausted from her ordeal in the desert. He was grateful to her. More so than what he had been in quite a while.

No one had truly helped him quite the way she had. He had received assistance of course, in battles and in finding a solution to a problem and other tasks. Only Naruto, Zabuza and Haku had ever, consoled him, or comforted him in the emotional sense and those times were very few and would be considered menial in comparison to the recent event.

But she also had one glaring difference from them…whereas Naruto, Zabuza and Haku could actually relate to him having been thought of nothing but demons or as weapons in their homes Tenten could not…she did not have a reason to show him such compassion and even risk her life out in the dune sea.

He still wondered just why she had taken the risk. Why she had moved out to what would be considered certain death…was it for the village? For the sake of the alliance? Or perhaps…perhaps for him?

He didn't know, but whatever her reasons he was grateful for her help.

He stared at her peaceful features for a few more seconds before he continued his walk to Suna.

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Haku was currently standing amidst the camp that held the majority of his army. Everything from the highest ANBU rank to the lowest Chuunin. Off in the distance his sharp, serpent like eyes could see the campfires in Kumo's border guard base.

"Haku?" Came a tentative voice behind him.

The Gondaime Mizukage turned and saw Sakura behind him just a few feet away shifting from foot to foot rather nervously. She avoided his gaze like the plague, even as it seemed to pierce right through her.

"If you've come to try and convince me otherwise Sakura your wasting your breath." He said simply.

The Med-nin sighed and walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Look, I'm not gonna say I know what you're going through because I don't. But I am asking you to please reconsider. Kiri doesn't want…it doesn't need a war with Kiri…neither nation may survive." She said pleadingly.

Haku looked at her for a few moments before he sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. I understand what your saying Sakura…but I cant just let this go…I _wont_ let this go. Zabuza was my father to just…to just up and say lets forgive and forget……I cant do it."

She sighed and looked down as she nodded meekly. "I understand."

His eyes seemed to soften for a moment before he spoke again. "You can leave if you like…I wont drag you into my fight."

She shook her head and smiled at him, though it seemed sad, strained and subdued all at once. "You're not getting rid of me that easily." She looked away. "I'll stay…just promise me you'll try not to take it to far." She said before turning and walking away.

Haku watched her leave before another presence reached his senses. "Have you come to dissuade me as well?"

Kotaro walked out of the shadows, the dragons on his blue silk robe glittering in the pale moonlight, the edge of his Naginata glinted as he held it in his right hand with the point towards the ground. He absently rubbed his long white beard with his left hand as he spoke.

"Not at all. I have seen your conviction, you cannot be dissuaded. I merely wish to advise you to take things with caution Mizukage-sama, or you may end up losing much more than just a father."

With that said the old ninja turned and left as silently as he came.

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Gaara entered the audience hall where many of the Suna jounin were currently gathered. He had left Tenten resting in one of the rooms of his families estate since she was still to exhausted to do much.

The Suna Shinobi each fell silent at the sight of the Gondaime Kazekage.

Gaara looked them over, his next command was simple but carried a great deal of weight in them weight.

"Martial the troops. We march for war!"

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Naruto pivoted on his heel and with a swift slice an Oto nin's head was cleanly sliced off.

Sasuke, who stood a few feet away from the blond wiped his sword free of blood as he spoke. 'Who would have thought…" He muttered. "An ambush party all the way out here." He said as he sheathed his blade.

Shikamaru absently lit a cigarette and started smoking, a trait he picked up from his sensei Asuma, before he answered. "Yeah well, they killed half our unit. Troublesome." He muttered.

"This confrontation." Naruto spoke. "With Orochimaru's forces has reached new heights, his troops must be anxious too." He said as he too sheathed his blade. He then turned his eyes onto the now rising sun.

"Keh, dawn already eh." Shikamaru muttered. "Lets head back to camp."

Naruto nodded and prepared to leave when a peculiar scent reached his nose, he could feel Kyuubi rousing from his slumber and his inner deemon seemed to give a low purr or growl of welcoming.

He turned to where the two scents were coming from and looked off into the distance for a few moments before he turned to the other two. "You guys go, I'll catch up."

The other two shrugged and nodded before they rushed off.

Naruto then turned back to where the disturbance had come from before he felt the familiar tingle on his back as his wings came forth and with a graceful leap he took to the sky.

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Very, very short and not worth the long delay for this particular story, its just that I haven't decided just how the reunion should go.

This was a filler, by the next chapter hopefully the action will pick up again. This was just to show you that I haven't given up on this story for those of you who were asking.


	53. Family reunion

Hn…been a while since I updated this, I still haven't completely gotten over my writers block but I wont update my other stories besides maybe A twist of fate until the alerts are back up.

So sorry if this seems a little forced.

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Naruto's wings were spread wide as he soared through the air. His sharp eyes scanning over the earth in search for the two familiar chakra yet still unfamiliar signatures.

Finally after a few minutes of flying he saw two figures with silver cloaks walking across the plains. He wasn't sure what they were looking for, or even if they were loking for anything but he certainly knew two things.

One- they were powerful

Two- he didn't recognize them. So they could easily be an enemy as they could be an ally from Suna or Kiri.

'_Well, what do you think?'_

Kyuubi had to fight down a huge smirk. He had recognized that chakra signature the second he woke up. But he didn't want to spoil the surprise for his grandson. So he had kept quiet. He was however going to make sure he got some entertainment out of this.

"**To risky, they could be spies. I suggest you use the element of surprise while you still have it."**

Heh, he always loved these. Of course he would make sure nothing happened, if things got too out of hand he would step in. Besides. Both his daughter and his grandson and his son-in-law needed to get their asses kicked for all the shit he'd had to deal with because of them. Since he couldn't very well do it, from behind this seal they might as well kick their own asses for him.

Naruto shrugged. "You sure?"

"**Yes." **He said with a tone of finality.

Naruto unsheathed his blade and his form soon shifted from light to dark, his red eyes staring down at his two targets.

"Here we go."

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Arashi was not known as the yellow flash for nothing. His body, though weaker due to years of comatose where he didn't exercise was still more than enough to take down a few dozen jounin.

His mind however had remained very sharp, if a bit…simple…years of facing down shinobi and leading campaigns against Iwa in the war led him to have a sort of…sixth sense for danger.

Right now, that sixth sense was practically screaming at him that something was up. Something very very weird.

Shani, also had an idea that something was wrong, something had changed in the wind. It was like a tingling at the back of her mind that just sort of nudged her strangely.

"So where do you think he is?" Arashi asked without turning to face her, they were both fully clad in their cloaks since they had agreed earlier that a low profile was the best way to go for the time being when you were considered a walking corpse.

She shrugged, while her chakra reserves were still nowhere near up to par with her original full strength she felt it was more than enough to take on a simple squad of ANBU and certainly a single brash moron that wanted a quick kill.

Still, she couldn't shake the feeling that this was no ordinary opponent.

They continued to move through the rolling plains of rice country, the high grass brushing past their knees.

They were focused on that, it was rather easy to fall into an ambush in any area with high grass, so they constantly scanned the plains for any unusual movements.

It was only when a shadow began to form between them did they know where their 'attacker' was.

"ABOVE!" They both shouted spinning around on their heels Arashi took out two kunai while Shani brandished her razor sharp claws. Arashi wished he had some more of the Hiraishin kunai, but he had lost all of them after the battle with his father in law, and he hadn't had a chance to make more since he woke up.

They turned and looked up, unfortunately, their opponent was apparently clad in some form of white clothing, and he was charging them with the sun at his back making it very difficult to see any part except his glowing blue eyes.

The bright, white light burned their eyes and they were both forced to look away, knowing that they were at a disadvantage they both leapt to opposite sides just as the white flash of a glowing sword took a horizontal swing that would have cleaved them both in two.

Shani's eye's immediately widened in recognition. _'That sword. That's the dragon sword. My sword.'_

Meanwhile Arashi was having completely different thoughts about the weapon as Naruto kept on attacking him. _'Why in the world do my opponents always seem to have the cool weapons?'_

He gripped his opponents wrist and smirked at him, his face shadowed by the cloak. "Ha! Got youuuuuuuuuuuaaahhhhhhhhhhh!!!" He ended with a yell as a scaled tail wrapped around his ankle and pulled his feet out from under him, making him fall on his back.

He snapped his eyes open and rolled to the side as the blade nearly impaled his forehead. He glared at the glowing white individual with big white, half bat half eagle like wings. "HEY!!! YOU ALMOST HIT ME!"

Naruto resisted the urge to sweatdrop and merely continued to try to stab this individual before he lost his patience.

Finally, not wanting to deal with this stupid, stab the earth game he lifted the cloaked male by his ankle upside down, so he was hanging, then he took a swipe at the mans neck.

Only to feel his eyebrow twitch as the moron raised himself up so his hands were touching his ankles and his face was infront of his knee.

Naruto snarled and was considering blasting the whole area to the seven hells when a clawed hand wrapped around the wrist holding his blade.

He spun around, a Rasengan already in hand, ready to slam it into his second opponent.

Arashi, though his eyes were practically the size of saucers at the fact that 'His' technique was being used against 'his' wife, acted very quickly taking one hand and grabbing the boys, arm with the Rasengan, while moving the other to grip a kunai and raising it to his neck.

His advance was stopped however by a firm clawed hand of his wife.

Naruto was about to ceise the strange opportunity when two voices, one inside his head and the other from the cloaked woman reached him.

"**That's enough."**

"Stop."

Both males stopped confused, slowly, they simultaneously turned their heads to the hooded woman who removed the hood, revealing her fiery orange hair and tanned face, smiling warmly at the, now glowing individual.

It didn't more than a second to recognize her, her face had been forever engraved in his memory since he had seen her more than fifteen years ago.

He snapped his head to the other individual, who was still obscured by the hood and let one of his wings extend and push the cloth away, revealing the sun kissed mop of blond hair and the shining, confused blue eyes that he inherited.

Now, when one piles up the stress of leading a war, along with the stress of the personal loss of his mentor/uncle/guardian figure along with the fact the woman he loved was currently in the hospital because some pale bastard decided to give her a hickey, and now you add a blindsider as big as this, the individual has but one terribly obvious choice of his current options.

He will choose to faint.

And so he did, Uzumaki Naruto, the youngest Sannin in the history of Konoha, most likely the world and head general of Konoha's shinobi campaign against Otogakure fainted dead on the spot.

Coincidently dropping Arashi on his head.

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Naruto woke up a few minute's later, the sound of two voices reached his ears.

"Well how was I supposed to know that was him? Last time I checked that sword didn't give you a lizard tail and wings!" One said defensively.

"How about when he used your prized technique, which Sarutobi did tell us, he was the only one capable of doing it besides Jiraiya." The other said simply.

Naruto, shot up to a sitting position, his back ramrod straight as he snapped his eyes open and looked around, his eyes landing on the two individuals that had been arguing.

For several seconds they could really do nothing more than stare at each other with a myriad of emotions running through each of them.

Shock.

Uncertainty.

Anticipation.

Awe.

Fear.

Many of these could be seen rushing through their eyes Finally, it was Shani who managed to step forward first, kneeling to be at eye level, with her stunned son. "Naruto?" She asked a little hesitantly, extending her hand out to him.

Naruto's own hands trembled slightly, but he quickly managed to suppress it and griped her hand in his as he stood still not removing his eyes from her, slited red ones. "Is…is it really you?"

She smiled softly and nodded. "Yes. It is."

Naruto couldn't help it, he beamed. His smile was simply radiant as it seemed to light up the whole field before he took her in a fierce embrace, letting his head rest at the crook of her neck he laughed as tears of happiness fell from his eyes.

She was momentarily stunned by the embrace but quickly smiled and let her own hands wrap around him smiling as she felt his shoulders shake from his jovial laughter.

Arashi, smiled before placing a hand on his son's shoulder. Naruto pulled back from the embrace with his mother and returned the gesture with equal fierceness to his father. When he pulled back he smiled at the two of them and took a shaky breath. "I've…been rehearsing this moment in my head for the last decade or so. Now, I'm here and…I have absolutely no idea what to say."

Shani smiled and gently took his larger hand in her own. "Don't worry, we have a lot to catch up on. And the rest of our lives to do it."

His smile was blinding as he hugged them again. Finally, after nearly two decades a family was reunited, and the entire Shinobi world would soon know it.

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Well, this is it, I really do hope this is up to my normal standard still, read and review, tell me what you think.


	54. History of the dragon blade

Here I am again, its been awhile, but thanks to a fellow author, I managed to shoot my writers block for this fic into the last layer of hell. So you can expect plenty of updates for this story.

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"Damn, things have really gotten bad for you haven't they?" Arashi said as he leaned back in his chair.

They were currently sitting in the war council tent, their presence had been kept a secret to everyone in the camp, that didn't stop rumors from spreading however, almost the entire camp was abuzz with the strange new arrivals that their young commander had brought with him.

Naruto sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Yeah, but still, our only choice now is to fight Orochimaru and hope Suna and Kiri can hold out on their own against Iwa and Kumo."

At this Arashi leaned forward a mischievous glint in his eyes. "So that Kumo girl you hooked up with, what is she on a scale of one to ten?"

Naruto was spared from answering as a fox tail came and smacked the former Hokage upside the head, knocking him to the ground Naruto let his eyes travel to his mother, who had a dangerous tick in her eyebrow. She sighed and looked at Naruto, her expression was somber. "I was afraid this would happen." She stated after a moment.

This caught Naruto's attention, he turned his attention to his mother fully. "What do you mean?"

She sighed again before she pointed to the sword at his side. "I'm talking about that blade, the dragon sword." She paused. "Since you don't know the history of that sword then you don't know the responsibility it brings with it."

"What responsibility?" Naruto asked puzzled._ 'Did you know anything about this?'_

"**Uhhhhh….."**

'_I guess that answers my question.' _He sighed irritably.

"Yeah, what responsibility, you never said anything about this to me." Arashi said as he picked himself off the ground and sat down on his seat again.

Shani sighed as she rubbed her forehead. "You didn't really think that having such powers would come for free did you?"

"I thought that holding the dragon sword and getting the title of ten-tails meant that you were the…well the leader of the Bijuu."

"Yes that is one responsibility, but the greater responsibility is much larger than that. The powers of light and darkness must always be kept in balance, and if the wielder of the sword refuses to keep that balance then, it will keep the balance on its own."

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked with a raised eyebrow.

She sighed again, "The powers of the dragon sword come from two brothers. They are the gods Nibel and Encablosa. Nibel, was the light and Encablosa was the darkness, throughout their lives the two grew to hate eachother. Eventually, their hatred for eachother grew into a constant war that tore through the universe.

It raged on through the eons eventually, their father, not wanting to favor one son over the other, sealed his two sons away, deep into the core of this planet. Allowing them to settle their feud there.

Even through their diminished states Nibel and Encablosa continued to feud for many more centuries, finally, seeing that they were never going to gain an advantage over each other, they came to an accord. They would each seal their power into a sword, if the individual that wielded the sword used it for good, then Nibel would gain strength, if used for evil Encablosa would gain strength, and eventually, with enough good deeds or bad deeds, then one of the two be freed.

However, Encablosa, knowing Nibel would never allow his powers to be used for evil even if it was to free himself, altered the process at the last minute, making it so that the effects would be the exact opposite, When the blade was used for evil Nibel would gin strength and when it was used for good, Encablosa gains strength, and can then subtly manipulate events so that a greater evil can occur, which will then make the wielder of the dragon sword possibly step in, thus, stopping whatever disaster or evil that had just occurred, thus, unknowingly, giving Encablosa greater freedom, power, and the ability to manipulate events again."

"But that makes no sense. So far, only three people have ever wielded the dragon blade, The original, Ten-Tailed Dragon, then you and now me. While all of us have done good deeds as far as I know, if someone like say, Orochimaru were to get the sword then Nibel would be free for certain."

"As I stated earlier Nibel would never allow his power to be used for evil and Encablosa himself would never allow the blade to fall into the hands of someone like that anyway Nibel choose the Ten tailed dragon as his avatar because he knew that out of all the species of creatures on this earth, the dragons, were the oldest, wisest and most compassionate. Later on, when Nibel could feel his brother getting stronger despite the fact that the blade was being used for good, he learned of Encablosa's treachery. Using what little he had of his strength he sent a message to his avatar. Informing him of the history of the blade and the circumstances that followed it.

The dragon tried to maintain a balance of both good and evil in his actions but in the end he could not use the power for evil. When he granted humans the gift of chakra, it was the final push, Encablosa was freed.

"**So that was the great disaster almost ten millennia ago." **

The Ten tailed dragon gave his life as did many of his brethren to defeat Encablosa and seal him back from the pit he came from, but not before Encablosa cursed the rest of the dragon clan, they didn't survive another millennia. When I took the blade the information came to me in a vision, and I used it accordingly, like the original Tentails I tried to keep a balance between good and evil in my life. But again, it didn't quite work out that way.

"So what good deed did you do?" Naruto drawled as he leaned his head on his fist, all of this information was giving him a headache.

"I met this idiot." She said dryly as she pointed at the former Hokage sitting next to her.

"Yeah she met… Hey wait a minute!!!"

"Why would your meeting dad be a good thing, or er…a bad thing or whatever this can be classified as?" Naruto said as he uncertainly scratched the back of his head.

"Well, one good thing that came out of it is that I had you." She smirked in his direction. Naruto smiled too before she spoke again. "But the big thing was that I helped stop the great war between Konoha and Iwa."

"Yeah." Arashi sighed as he smirked. "Those were some good times huh?" He remarked looking at her.

She smiled at him, his hand inched closer to one of her fox tails, just as he was about to reach his objective however, the but of a kunai hit his hand, hard, causing him to pull back with a wince as he glared at his son.

"You can have your fun later, while I'm not around. Right now however you can get back on subject."

Shani cleared her throat. "Right, anyway, your father here was trying to invent his new Jutsu, "The Hiraishin." I helped him and thus, what led us to get closer and what led to Iwa's defeat when he single-handedly defeated over three hundred ninja in a single battle."

"Eventually, you were born, and because of my actions, my father attacked the hidden leaf village, a great good for a greater evil, such is the way of the world." She sighed tiredly towards the end.

"You cant be to sure of that, it could have just been coincidence."

She sighed. "This is why I wanted you to be raised among the humans, this responsibility is a burden I didn't want for you. When you stopped Orochimaru from giving Sasuke the curse seal you have set a series of events in motion, if he would have taken Sasuke, then I am certain that the snake would have felt confident in the fact that he would be more powerful than anyone else when he obtained the Sharingan from him and therefore, it would never have led to this war."

"Are you saying this is my fault?" He asked a little heatedly.

She sighed before walking over to him. She knelt infront of him and took his hand in hers. "This is not an easy burden to bear Naruto. I never wanted it for you. The fact that you now do carry it is…very worrisome. You are my son, and I do not want to lose you again."

"Your mother's right son. We're just worried for your safety, from what she's told me, if you do enough good deeds then eventually, your gonna find yourself in a situation that wont be easy to get out of." Arashi spoke from his place in the room in a serious voice.

Both Naruto and Shani stared at him with raised eyebrows.

"What? I can be serious when I want to!" He said incredulously as he crossed his arms in front of his chest

Naruto sighed as he stood, "I'll deal with the problems as they come, at the moment, I need to think of defeating Orochimaru and defending Konoha."

"And rescuing your distressed damsel or was it damsel in distress." Arashi put in from his place in the room.

Naruto half glared at him before he sighed again. "That too. Anyway, its late, its been a long day for all of us why don't we head to sleep, and continue this discussion in the morning."

They both nodded. "Of course son." His mother conceded, he smiled before he turned and hugged both of them before he walked out.

"I'm worried." She stated after a moment. For Encablosa to be able to manipulate my father to an extent that he couldn't control himself means that he has gained a great deal of strength indeed."

Arashi placed a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, it'll all work out in the end." He grinned a lopsided grin. "It always does."

She looked at him a bit skeptically. ""You need to take things more seriously."

"And you need to lossen up a bit, like Naruto said, we'll deal with the problems as they come." He shrugged. "Besides, worrying about stuff only give stress, doing something about it gives results."

She smiled as she shook her head. "I guess your right, lets go and get some rest."

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Meanwhile, somewhere in the tunnels of rice country.

"I'm telling you, we're lost." Yugito said with an agitated snarl at the cycloptic leaf jounin beside her.

"We're not lost!" He stated a little angrier than usual as he looked around "We just……don't know where we are at the moment." He stated lamely.

"Urgh, this is ridiculous."

"Look, it isn't my fault we're lost if you know so much then why don't you navigate us through this ma…"

"Shh, wait!" She interrupted. "Do you hear that?"

Kakashi paused to listen, after a moment or two, fain echoes of voices reached his ears. "Yeah…I do, but…where is it coming from?" He asked as he looked around.

Yugito concentrated for a moment, her better than average hearing allowing her to pinpoint the source of the sounds from the echoes. "That way!" She said pointing down another-one of the hallways.

Kakashi nodded and made a minor cloaking Genjutsu on both of them. "Stay in the shadows, last thing we want is to be discovered."

"Got it." She nodded before they both began making their way down the tunnel.

After a few moments, the flicker of torch lights could be seen faintly in the darkness. When they finally arrived at the opening both had to stifle gasps at the sight that lay before them.

'_What in the world'_

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Here it is, read and review, Also, just to warn you, things may get a little complicated from this point on, I'll be covering the war with Oto and Konoha, Kiri and Kumo and Suna and Iwa, more or less at the same time, so it may be difficult to keep up. That's just a warning.

Anyway, Again, read and review.


	55. The underground discovery

Here I am again.

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"CHARGE!!! PUSH THEM BACK!!!"

At the commanding Jounin's cry many of the other ninja let out a battle cry and rushed forward across the shallow, ankle deep river that kept them from their enemies.

A cold chill crept into their veins, chilling them to the bone and making their skin crawl with dread, mere seconds before the river exploded in spears of ice, impaling and killing them all in mere seconds. The ice spears shattered letting their victims fall into the shallow river with soft splashes, revealing a black haired youth who stood holding two daggers, as his slitted yellow eyes glared coldly at the dead Kumo nins before him.

He let his eyes travel to the Kumo border garrison.

"Kai!" He said revealing more than three dozen Kiri ninja all around him.

"My lord!" A chuunin yelled as he appeared in a swirl of water next to him. 'Kotaro-sama reports that his men are engaging a detached unit that attempted to circle around the rear. He would like to know how you wish for him to handle the situation.

"It does not matter." Haku spoke coldly before pointing his blade to the small garrison which could be seen just a mile away. "Forward, let Kotaro deal with the detached unit, we shall deal with the main kumo force." His eyes grew cold and hard. "They shall pay for their treachery in hell."

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Kakashi allowed his eyes to travel across the area before him, taking in everything. Below him there were hundreds of people, most appeared to be slaves that were being forced to work by a few dozen Oto jounins.

"I cant believe this." Yugito said partly in awe and partly in disgust.

"Indeed." Kakashi agreed. "Who knew Oto had such a rich source of gold."

"Or that they were using slave labor to mine it." She spat out with an angry snarl.

"Indeed, but…." Kakashi trailed off "Something is off…there shouldn't be this many." He let his eyes travel to another, even larger group of slaves being brought in. "Way to many, Orochimaru would have to enslave the entire non-ninja population of rice country in order to have this many slaves here."

"But that cant be, Rice country still has plenty of civilians from what our spies have reported." Yugito replied back.

"Right, which is why I find such a large number of slaves to be so strange." Kakashi stated simply as he looked around. "We should investigate this." He pointed to the right side of the cave. "You go that way, and I'll go this way, we'll meet back here in an hour or so. Stick to the shadows." That said he promptly vanished in a wisp of smoke with Yugito following his example shortly afterwards.

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Kotaro calmly side stepped one foolish ninja's attempt to strike him and with one swift motion slashed his Naginata across the mans stomach, then slowly almost tauntingly grabbed him by the face and pushed him to the side where he fell with a dull thump.

He continued walking forward blocking enemy strikes and countering with swift and precise movements of an experienced veteran.

"Kotaro-sama!" A chuunin messenger yelled as he ran next to him.

Kotaro calmly straightened his posture, ignoring the sounds of battle around him. "He is not sending troops?"

The chuunin paused for a moment before he spoke. "No my lord. He is leading a full on charge to the enemy base."

"It is as I feared then. His anger has made him reckless."

"My lord?" The chuunin questioned.

"This was merely a test lad, this detachment consisted of little more than chuunin, me and my men can easily handle this. But if Haku would have sent men, then that would mean that his head is in the right place and he is not being controlled by his passions alone."

"I see." The chuunin bowed after the explanation.

"Where are they now?" Kotaro asked after a moment.

"Near the Anegawa river my lord."

Kotaro paused and tensed. "The river you say?"

"Yes my lord." The chuunin said, suddenly wary from the old mans worried expression.

"Oh no."

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Kakashi crawled on the roof of the cave, hanging directly over a desk with various scrolls on it. Two guards sat nearby drinking from wine bottles as they talked.

"Hey, have you heard, they say Orochimaru has mannaged to bring Kumo and Iwa into this war to help."

"Yeah I did, we were giving Konoha a hard time before when it was just us against them, Kiri and Suna, now with Kumo and Iwa helping us, we'll burn the hidden leaf for sure."

'_So Iwa has joined the war too…I suppose they would, given their history with the leaf.' _Kakashi mused silently to himself. He was about to leave when something the guards said caught his attention.

"Yeah, and now that we have an alliance with Iwa and Kumo, it'll be much easier to gather the slaves we need. Who knows, some new ones could be coming soon."

"Yeah probably, thank god too, I'm sick already of these idiots, they're already broken."

"Hn, don't worry about it" One remarked before throwing his wine bottle on the floor, shattering it as he stood up. "Come on, we gotta get back to work."

"Why the hell do we have to patrol this place? I mean, its not like anyone ever comes down here."

"Yeah yeah you can complain later."

Kakashi waited for a few moments for them to round the corner before falling down to the ground.

"Nothing ever happens indeed." He remarked as he looked over the text over the table.

"Maps?" He questioned as he realized there was nothing on the table but maps. He looked over them, burning them into his memory with the sharingan. It took him but a moment, to realize that all the maps there were of Oto, Ame, Kusa, Iwa and Kumo.

But that made no sense, in order to wage war you needed maps of your enemies territory, not your allies.

'_Wait a minute, could he be taking all of these slaves from all of these villages? Maybe that's why they said it would be easier, I can imagine that before Oto nins had to be very careful of being spotted in enemy territory, now that can just state they they were passing through, and no one would ask any questions.'_

Still, this was just speculation he would have to wait for Yugito to come back before he confirmed anything.

Putting everything back the way it was Kakashi once again vanished into the shadows of the cave.

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Meanwhile, from the Kumo border garrison, the commanding Anbu watched as Haku's center division tore through his troops with ease, pushing the Kumo nins back to the very edge of the river.

"Well then, I think now is a good time to execute our strategy, don't you?" The commander spoke as he turned his head over his shoulder to see the Kumo nin, covered from head to toe in black garbs.

"As you wish, Katsuie-sama." He said simply before he faded in a wisp of smoke.

Katsuie wore an Anbu head piece (the kind Yamato wears) with redish, orange clothing and near shoulder length auburn hair. He stood at a height of five ten. On one hip, he held a single two edged straight sword and on the other, various war fans to signal his troops.

He was a dispassionate man, and was Kumo's equivalent to one Nara Shikamaru along with a hint of Uchiha Itachi's countenance .

He watched with a bored gaze through his chakra enhanced vision as the Mizukage tore through many of his men with the ease of a rampaging demon.

"Hmph"

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Yugito skulked through the dark corners of the cave silently watching the guards and averting her gaze from the pitiful looking peasants and slaves. She heard a metallic screeching sound to her right and looked to see an elevator lift bringing in more slaves from above.

An Oto nin holding a list of sorts walked over to the person who appeared to be the slave master. "Allright, I want them all signed in here, including where you got them from this time, we cant have any more near mess-ups like the last time."

"Sure thing sempai." The man said as he took the list and began walking through the group of slaves jotting down notes as he went from tags the slaves had on their arms.

Yugito watched and waited for the man to finish. When he was finally done he walked over to the commanding Oto nin and handed the list back.

"Good work, get them processed and place them where you think they'll do best, I'm gonna secure this report for Orochimaru-sama."

Yugito watched the exchange, and then watched as the commanding ninja walked off and his subordinate began beating the slaves forward. It took nearly every ounce of self restraint she had not to jump down and free them.

Instead, she steeled herself and followed the commander through the torch lit passages of the cave.

She watched as he placed the list inside of a case and then used ninjutsu to seal it shut.

When he walked away Yugito walked over to the box and examined it, sealing techniques were never her specialty, they weren't a Kumo specialty either, she knew only the basic sealing technique of placing something in a scroll but that was about it. Konoha however was highly reknowned for its seal masters such as Jiraiya and the late Yondaime. Maybe Kakashi had some knowledge about this.

With that thought in mind she once again, melted into the shadows, intent on finding the copy cat of Konoha.

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Sakura was currently healing another injured Kiri nin back at the main camp when one of the Kiri chuunin messengers came rushing in.

"My lady, Haku-sama is requesting reinforcements at the river, we have pushed the enemy back and merely need some extra man power to finish them off."

Sakura looked taken aback. "Already?" She asked incredulously. "They said this garrison would be difficiult to take, how can we possibly be leading the final assault after just the first day?"

The chuunin spoke up without a moments hesitation. "Godaime-sama killed their commanding Anbu, easily breaking through their lines, the enemies morale is plummeting rapidly, please Sakura-san, we must ride this momentum now while we still can."

Sakura nodded, though a little hesitant and looked to one of the medics "Can you handle things here?"

"Yes Sakura-san." The medic nin replied, not pausing in his work.

She nodded before she looked to some of the reserve ninja on standby. "ALLRIGHT I WANT TWENTY CHUUNIN AND TEN JOUNIN TO LINE UP NOW!"

In seconds the ninja had done as instructed, showing that Sakura had indeed gained much respect in her time spent in Kiri.

"WE'LL BE MOVING IN AS THE FINAL ASSAULT WAVE, AGAINST THE ENEMY." At this murmurs broke through the crowd Sakura ignored them and spoke.

"WE LEAVE IMMEDIATELY! MOVE OUT!!!"

"YES MAM!" They all chorused before they all vanished, Sakura included.

No one heard the chuunins soft whisper. "Mission…completed."

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Yugito jumped slightly in fright as Kakashi suddenly appeared in front of her, his blood red Sharingan eye and stark silver hair standing out amongst the shadows.

"What did you find?" He questioned.

"They have some kind of list of the slaves in a box with a sealing technique, I don't know much about seals so I was wondering if you could help me out."

Kakashi nodded. "Allright, lead the way."

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Haku blocked one Kumo nins feeble attempt at a lunge with a kunai and kneed him in the stomach making him kneel forward. The Mizukage wasted no time and sliced him clean across the lower back, severing his spine and killing him instantly. This was odd, the last few defensive lines had fallen easily to them, the enemy had fallen back offering minimal resistance, but it seemed like they were fighting tooth and nail to keep this one in place as long as possible.

He pushed the ninja off him and paused as a strong presence caught his senses. He turned and saw a man with an Anbu headpiece staring straight at him with a bored expression.

As he was going to step forward however, a familiar voice reached his ear.

"HAKU!!!"

The Mizukage spun around and saw the pink haired medic nin running at him with a confused expression on her face.

"Sakura, what are you doing here?"

"What do you mean?" She asked incredulously. "You're the one who requested reinforcements!"

It only took him a second to realize what happened. _'They've lured us to the river.'_

He turned back to the figure he had seen earlier and saw the individual smirking. "Welcome to your grave Momochi Haku." He spoke as he raised one of the many war-fans on his waist and signaled someone upriver.

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"That's the signal." One Kumo nin said as he stared through binoculars. "Open the floodgates!"

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Haku stared down at the water beneath his feet, the current had gotten stronger and was growing more violent by the second. The low rumble of the earth was growing louder and louder. He looked upriver where he could see a white mass rushing towards them.

"GET TO HIGH GROUND NOW!!!" He yelled to all of his ninja.

"I don't think so." Katsuie spoke, mainly to himself as he raised his hand. "NOW!"

In seconds, more than a dozen Kumo nins, six on each riverbank morphed into view, their forms coming into focus as their Genjutsu was dispelled. They threw Kunai and Shuriken at eachother, with special ninja wires attached to them.

They formed their handseals and in less than a second lightning came from their hands and through the ninja wire trapping the Kiri nins in the river, right in the path of the oncoming river water.

Katsuie watched with a small smirk on his face. "This is what happens when you overestimate yourself and underestimate your enemy fool."

Haku watched as many of his ninja began rushing away from the water, trying to reach the end of the lightning barrier so they could get out of the way. But the water was too fast and they most likely wouldn't make it, others had tried to jump over the lighting and had receive several hundred volts of lightning coursing through their system for their efforts.

Haku snarled, he tried to form a jutsu to send the water elsewhere but it appeared as if they had infused it with chakra so no jutsu would work.

'_I refuse to die in a place like this.' _He thought with determination as he gathered chakra in his hands and dunked them into the water at his feet.

Almost instantly the water infront of him froze, as he extended his Hyouton abilities so they could affect the oncoming rush.

Slowly, the rushing water began to slow, until it eventually came to a full stop just a few feet from the Mizukage.

Haku panted slightly as he stood to his full height. He turned to Sakura who had a shocked look on her face before she smiled at him. Despite himself Haku returned her smile.

Before he could do much else, Sakura caught movement in her peripheral vision she turned just in time to see the 'chuunin' that had delivered the request for reinvorcements vanish in a puff of smoke, revealing a Kumo nin clad entirely in black, as he rushed forward at speeds she could barely see.

"HAKU BEHIND YOU!!!"

The Mizukage turned in time to catch a flash of metal before his eye and then…

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Well, there you go, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please. Tell me your thoughts and give me some feed back.


	56. I have a plan

Again its been a while but again I've been caught up with my other stories.

Anyway here's the update.

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**-Splash-**

Crimson blood was washed away as it fell into the river at their feet. Haku's eyes widened as his eyes fell on Kotaro's back as the old man's forearm was skewered on a sickle with a chain attachment. He had thrown himself in the way of the attack.

The shrouded figure vanished, yanking mercilessly on the chained weapon pulling it out with a horrible tearing sound, the hooked edge pulling out tendons and muscle tissue with it. The blue dragon of Kiri hissed in pain but did little else as the black figure appeared next to Katsuie, the Kumo commander.

Haku stepped next to him, as Sakura rushed to his side. "Kotaro-sama." She cried in alarm as she gently grabbed his injured arm. She grimaced at the severity of the injury, she could even see the white of the bone it was so deep. Immediately her hands glowed with green chakra as she placed them over the horrendous injury.

Despite his stoic countenance he visibly released some tension as the pain ebbed away.

"Thank you Kotaro." Haku said. The older man turned and nodded before turning his sights back onto the black figure and the commander that stood next to him.

Katsuie looked to his comrade. "This bores me. Come,Izumo we shall fall back into the garrison."

"As you wish." The newly named Izumo spoke calmly before the two vanished in wisps of smoke.

Haku snarled and stepped forward intent on following when Sakura's voice reached him.

"Haku, that's enough for today, the men are tired and they need rest."

"What we need is to finish this." He shot back as he moved to continue when a hand latched onto his shoulder. He turned, ready to yell at whoever it was when a fist connected solidly with his jaw and another griped the collar of his cloak firmly holding him in place.

He looked down into the eyes of Kotaro as the old man held him up with his injured arm. "Now you listen to me…you are the Mizukage. You may be angry over Zabuza's death, we all are, but I will not allow your petty impatience for revenge to drive these men to their deaths. This is a war, it will not be won overnight, I suggest you put your priorities in their place and you do it quickly. You are the Mizukage…act like it."

He finished by shoving the youth away, the entire group of Kiri ninja within earshot stared between the two, many agreed with the old man, they wanted revenge for the death of Zabuza but knew that in their current state they would be of little to no use against any fresh Kumo nin that might be in the Garison.

Sakura held her breath as Haku glared at the old ninja, and Kotaro glared right back, matching the young man in its determination until finally Haku addressed his ninja. "Return to the camp and rest, we strike at them tomorrow at dawn." Before he vanished in a swirl of water.

Sakura scanned the area searching for him but Kotaro's arm infront of her gave her pause as she looked to the Kiri jounin.

"Leave him be…this is a lesson he must learn on his own, and there are still more injuries that need your assistance much more than simple injured pride."

She nodded and together they began gathering the troops, and helping the injured back to camp.

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Ina groaned softly as she felt the edges of her consciousness returning. The first thing she noticed was that her head was throbbing with pain, as if she had a jackhammer pressed against her skull. The second thing she noticed was the rhythmical beeping sound that continued to reach her ears. It was a familiar sound, one that she quickly recognized as hospital equipment.

"It's about time you finally woke up."

She recognized that voice, rolling her head in its general direction, she opened her sapphire blue eyes and met Kin's black ones.

She smiled tiredly. "Hey Kin…"

A short pause.

Then her eyes snapped open in surprise. "KIN!" She yelled practically leaping to her feet, her sudden movement made her dizzy and she swerved uneasily on her feet as she plopped down on the bed. The last thing she remembered was sitting by her Jii-chan when...

With a start she remembered that she hadn't just been sitting next to her Jii-chan…she had been crying. He died…and then…sound ninja. She recalled very clearly the musical symbol on their heads.

She took a deep breath calming herself down and pushing the painful memory of Mori down for the time being and addressed her friend. "Kin how am I here and what's happened since I've been unconscious?"

Kin sighed. "Well, I've only been awake for about five hours so I've only gotten a quick summary of what's been going on…and its not good, not any of it."

"Whats happened?" The Kumo kunoichi asked a slow feeling of dread building up in the pit of her stomach.

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"Zabuza's dead?" Ina's voice trembled with shock at the news as she held her face in her hands. First her grandfather, then she's kidnapped by that snake lunatic, and now Zabuza's dead…and apparently because of her own brother…dear god how can she possibly face any of her friends from Konoha after this…how would she face Gaara, or Haku, or Naruto after this. That last thought made her stomach tighten uncomfortably.

Kin nodded slowly. She had no personal relationship with the man but he was like everyone's crazy uncle at their few gatherings over the years. He was a good distraction from the lazy annoyance of Kakashi, or the Looney Toon known as Gai, and he was easier to relate and have a conversation with…that and his sarcastic attitude made for some funny moments with his arguments between him and Naruto.

Ina calmed her raging thoughts and stood on somewhat unsteady legs. "Where's Tsunade-sama?"

"Whoa wait a minute girl!" Kin said as she too stood and placed her hands on the older girls shoulders. "Sit down, you've been knocked out by that snake freak for got knows how long you need to rest."

"I need to find Naruto Kin. Tell me where Tsunade is now or…" She stiffened and fell to her knees as she clutched her neck, hissing in pain.

Kin gasped and knelt next to her. Gently but firmly moving her hand she caught sight of a pulsing curse seal. "Ohh shit."

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Kakashi and Yugito watched as Ninja patrolled the dank murky halls. Finally went they heard the footsteps fade, lulling them once into a deep silence, disturbed only by the sound of dripping water did they move.

Using chakra enhanced speed and a mild genjutsu the two quickly made their way into the room Yugito said held the box containing the list the commanding officer of this facility had apparently written on.

When they entered the room, it was still empty, and the box Yugito had mentioned sat atop a desk at the far edge of the room. Kakashi approached cautiously, his sharingan spinning slowly as it revealed to him the mid-level seal over the box.

With a few quick seals his fingertips glowed before he gently placed them over the box. There was a brief ripple of sorts before the seals over the box burned away. He reached for the lock and with a lightning charged kunai cut it away as silently as possible.

Yugito winced as a minute 'ring' sound echoed slightly and she prayed no one heard.

Swiftly opening the box he found the list he was looking for. Scanning it over with his Sharingan he quickly began flipping through the pages, not bothering to truly read them, just simply scanning them to the Sharingan to go over later in a much more secure location.

"Someone's coming." Yugito hissed and he picked up his pace.

"Hurry up." She hissed again as the footsteps reached their ears clearly, and approaching quickly.

He finished, placing the papers back in the box, placing the seals and lock over it when he heard the door opening.

"Shit…" He heard the Kumo kunoichi hiss before she grabbed him from behind. He felt…something, possibly a genjutsu wash over them as the door opened and the guard looked over the room with a suspicious eye. He entered and looked around before he finally shrugged and walked back out.Kakashi felt the strange feeling ebb away, he turned in time to catch Yugito as she fell forward, breathing somewhat heavily as sweat marred her forehead.

"Whats wrong?" He asked urgently.

She picked herself up, taking in a deep breath. "Don't worry, one of my abilities is to strengthen any jutsu exponentially for a small burst of power, I didn't want to get caught so I used a lot of energy, just give me a second to catch my breath."

He nodded and when she visibly regained herself he spoke. "Allright, come on, let's get somewhere more secluded so we can discuss what was on that list. She nodded and together, they made their way out.

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"DAMNIT SHIZUNE WHERE THE HELL IS JIRAIYA!" Tsunade yelled as she held her hands over the violently pulsating curse seal on Ina's neck. The girl screamed in what Tsunade could easily describe as agony as dark lines in the design of lightning bolts fought to burn a pattern across her skin. The only thing currently holding it back was the girls own will and Tsunade's chakra battling against it as she poured it into her. But at this rate she was gonna run out of chakra and the only person that could properly seal this was Jiraiya.

As if waiting for his call there was a loud crash as the toad hermit jumped through a closed window. "HA, IT IS I THE GREAT TOAD SANNIN AND LOVER OF ALL WOMEN! THE GREAT AND ALL POWE--"

He was cut off as Tsunade punched him in the face. How she did that from the other side of the room he would never know.

"SHUT YOUR MOUTH AND GET YOUR ASS OVER HERE!" She bellowed.

He straightened and rushed over almost immediately, all joking removed from his features as he unrolled a scroll ran his blood overit, formed his handseals and slammed them down on her neck. **"****Banja**** no ****Fuja****Hoin****!"**(All evil sealing method)

The young woman's muscles locked as pain shot up and down her spine, like hundreds of needles were slowly digging themselves in her flesh and moving around. She let out another scream before she fell forward, unconscious, her body instinctively going into the fetal position as her body continued to throb with pain.

Jiraiya sighed as he picked her up and placed her on the bed. "Well, at least next time she wakes up she won't have to worry about the pain, and it should slow down the deterioration of her chakra coils."

Tsunade sighed as she plopped down on one of the nearby chairs as the others began walking out of the room. "Remind me again why you didn't do this while she was asleep."

"Because the shock to her system while she was asleep would probably cause her to fall into a coma."

She grunted and stood. "When do you think she'll wake up?"

"A day…maybe two."

She nodded. "Fine keep an eye on her and tell me when she finally wakes up."

"Aww but I had such great research materi…" He stopped as he noticed her death glare. "Nevermind."

She smirked knowing exactly what it took to keep the pervert in line…buuuut just for extra measure. "Ohh go ahead, I'm sure Naruto would love to hear how his girlfriend got hurt because you were too busy."

He was so pale he could probably rival Orochimaru.

She walked out, confident that the pervert wouldn't be going anywhere any time soon.

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Yugito sighed in relief as they finally arrived at the place they had originally use to enter this cobweb of passages. Kakashi plopping down to the floor across from her as they both kept their vigil.

"So what did it have?" She questioned after a short while of making sure no one had followed.

"Does the name Hidenaga Uchiwaru ring a bell to you?"

She scrunched her face up for a moment in a 'what the fuck are you talking about?' expression when she had a slow look of recognition dawn on her eyes. "Hey yeah…I remember now, he took the jounin exams about two months ago, he was supposed to go on a mission to infiltrate Iwa but he never came back. How do you know him?"

Kakashi nodded and spoke simply. "His name was on that list, and a lot of other names under "Kumo" were too. There was also a list under Iwa, Kusa, Ame, Taki and even wave country I think Orochimaru has been taking prisoners and using them as slave labor to mine this gold to fuel his war effort. Either he kidnaps them in their sleep or during missions… I assume he's using the fact that Oto is close to Kumo to infiltrate and pull back before anyone can notice, it looks like now that he's made some sort of alliance with Iwa that allow free travel between them since I found no other mention of it besides a recent page."

She snarled and gritted her teeth in anger. "That bastard…"

"Calm down." He spoke firmly. "What we need to do is keep our heads cool and identify how they're keeping the Shinobi prisoners under control, if we can disrupt that then we've got a shot of causing a riot and if we can get all of these ninja out of here, they can go back to their respective countries…"

"And Orochimaru will be public enemy number one in the whole world." She finished with a grin as she turned to him. "So where do we start?"

"Don't worry." He spoke in a cool confident tone. "I have a plan."

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Here ya go a little short and kinda fillerish but its nesesary.

Read and review please (reviews inspire the author more and make updates faster)


	57. Hatake's plan and Jiraiya's decision

Here I am again. Sorry that updates for this story are so far between but its been tough getting inspiration for this fic, I know more or less where I want it to go, I just dont know how exactly to get it there.

But anyway here's the next update

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"This is such a stupid idea." Yugito hissed harshly at the copy ninja as the man began undressing the newly made, dead carcass of an Oto ninja. Pretty green too, they had overheard one of the veteran prison guards of the underground mine giving the new recruits a briefing of their duties in this place. This one had wandered off on his own when they dismissed em and...well this was the result, a slit throat and the copy nin currently taking all of his gear.

"Look lady if you got a better idea then I'm all ears, but right now I'm gonna pose as one of the guards to get in close to the prisoners and find out just how the hell they're keeping so many shinobi, even starving ones under their thumb. There's a reason our nations we don't take prisoners after all.

That was true, hardly any ninja villages took too many prisoners during times of war. Seals that cut off chakra to the point where the ninja wouldn't be able to fight properly were only known to a select few seal masters, usually one or two for each village, and seals also took a great deal of chakra and control to make properly so it was highly unlikely that Oto had enough people with the proper knowledge and training to make so many seals.

She had counted about 100 to 120 ninja prisoners, and about twice as many civilians with somewhere around 40 to 60 guards, certainly a force that could easily be overwhelmed by the superior number of ninja and even civilian attackers should they riot...

So again what was keeping them there?

Yugito sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Okay so do you even have this guy's name or know if he's got a friend here? That is important if your going to pose as him."

"I picked this guy because he has no friends."

"And how the hell do you know that?"

"Body language. His eyes they spoke of mistrust and nervousness. He's likely a clinical paranoid who was hired by Orochimaru as cannon fodder. He didn't speak to anyone, he didn't look at anyone and most seemed uneasy around him from what I observed."

"Well do you even know what his name is?"

"Why would I need to know that?"

"Because your gonna be posing as him." She growled out now truly beginning to believe that the legendary copy cat was nothing more than a dumbass overrated fool.

"Who said I was gonna pose as him?"

"Well then what the hell are you gonna..." She stopped short as she saw his fingers reach up to his face mask and pull it off. Blood rushed to her face as her eyes settled on the most handsome face she had ever seen on anyone. Good God it should be illegal to have a face like that. Not a single imperfection. She visibly leaned in to him. Kakashi saw her movement and began to sweat.

He had hopped that because they were technically on opposite sides and that they most certainly come from different villages that she would be able to control any fan-girlish urges she would get, as most women did at the sight of his face. (Not to gloat or anything) But it appeared he was wrong. But perhaps a little nudge in the proper direction was in order.

"Ummmm...what are you doing?" He spoke up and watched her blush before pulling back as if burned. "N-nothing." She stuttered out her response.

"Okay then good." He nodded before he ran a hand through his hair, letting it fall over his features and not defy gravity as it usually did.

He turned to Yugito only to see her giving him a strange look. At once he understood why.

"Its held up by chakra..." He said letting a soft, stupid smile settle over his features. "I just stop the flow and the hair falls...works well if I want to change my appearance without a henge."

She nodded and visibly swallowed as she composed herself, leaning back onto the cave wall as Kakashi donned the mans clothing and turned to her, using a minor but strong genjutsu to cover his Sharingan he looked like an ordinary, but sinfully handsome man. She shook her head to clear the thoughts before she spoke. "So what exactly am I supposed to do."

"You're going to distract the guards and I'm gonna find out what they do to keep other ninja prisoners here?" He said as he used a quick Doton jutsu to burry the now dead sound nin.

"And how the hell is that gonna work."

"Simple..." He said before he spun around nailing her on her temple with the but end of a kunai. She fell onto her side dazed as her vision blurred.

"Sorry."

She felt another blow to the back of her neck before she fell forward her vision darkening as her world faded into gentle darkness.

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Meanwhile several hundred miles away near the northern borders of Iwa.

Large mahogany doors creaked open revealing the now officially named Otokage as he entered the chambers. "Ahh Tsuchikage-dono his amused sickening voice hissed as the Tsuchikage stood from his seat. He was a large man of about Asuma's build, older, possibly in his late fifties or even his early sixties with dark tanned skin. A thin, groomed goatee to go with a Mongolian style mustache. The most peculiar thing however was that this man was missing an arm, something that would have made his ninja career be considered over. A peculiar hooked mace-like weapon was at his side the edges glinting fiercely. His name was Ata-Kai (1). The Sandaime Tsuchikage of Iwa, reinstated when the Yondaime Tsuchikage, Nobunaga Oda was killed by the Yondaime Hokage of Konoha. (2)

"Otokage-dono." The man said nodding in acknowledgement as he gestured to the seat across from him. "Now we simply must wait for Raikage-dono to arrive in order to begin this planning session."

"I'm afraid that Raikage-dono is busy defending his borders and cannot join us. He has said however, that we should not worry about the eastern front, he will hold it well and that we should focus on our own borders." Stated the snake-sannin, holding back the malicious smile that threatened to split across his face at the intricate web of lies he had crafted around the entire nation.

"I see." Ata-Kai nodded "Very well then...let us begin this planning session..." He moved to stand up to point to the map when Orochimaru's hand shot out and the snake sannin smiled. "Tsuchikage-dono." He said grinning. "If you would allow me, I already have a plan thought up and I would like you to hear it?"

Atakai raised a single eyebrow in silent questioning before he spoke. "Oh? I do hope it is a Good plan."

At that Orochimaru only smirked. "Oh I believe you will find it quite...satisfactory."

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Tsunade sighed as she made her rounds in the hospital, she had received another five critically injured nin that had been sent back from the front line. She had managed to save three of them, but the last two she had lost. She had long ago come to terms with the simple fact that she could not save everyone...that never made it any easier though.

It wasn't all bad though, they had pushed in another seven miles into rice country and were now a mere one-hundred and eighty miles from the village itself. If they continued with their current progress they should be able to make it to the village in another two to four weeks.

Taking the village however would be another matter entirely. Naruto had reported that he had seen the Oto nins stocking up on supplies and men, for some reason they wanted to hold the highly un-defensible Oto village rather than retreat to the marshlands of Kusa, Ame and Taki they had recently conquered.

Orochimaru apparently had something valuable hidden in his village...that was the only viable reason he would cling to it so...what was it however?

She paused as she came to the last door on her rounds. It was the door that housed Ina and Kin. The Kumo kunoichi had practically been demanding to be released since she woke up. But Tsunade couldn't allow it. She knew what she wanted to do. She wanted to head to Kumo and speak to her brother and Haku. She wanted to stop the war. And she knew that while there was a slim chance for her success Orochimaru probably had spies all around the area ready for when she or Naruto or Gaara tried to interfere, also if she was injured it could have disastrous consequences when the news reached Naruto. For all she knew he could be thrown into a rage that could end up damaging both friends and foes alike, making all his progress up to this point for nothing.

And she still had to deal with the ramifications of Arashi and Shani's "revival." The sheer consequences such a thing could bring was staggering. Many in Iwa hated the Yondaime with a passion similar that Kyuubi has in Konoha. Kumo as well hated the Yondaime, for when he defeated Iwa their economy suffered greatly. So while Kumo may be an enemy now due to Orochimaru's treachery. They could in all actuality commit themselves fully to this war making peace with them, an even slimmer possibility than what it was now.

But it could work both ways, on one hand the enemies could rally for a chance at revenge upon the Yondaime, or they could simply collapse in defeat without so much as a fight at even a small shred of proof that the Yellow flash had returned from his grave.

It was a gamble...and just thinking of the councils reaction was already bringing her a headache. Still they would have to be told soon. And she still hadn't told Jiraiya.

She opened the door and her eyes immediately widened at the sight that greeted her. Kin lay ties to her bed, a gag covering her mouth as she thrashed wildly. Tsunade immediately rushed forward and undid the cloth around her mouth. "What happened!?" She asked urgently fearing that an Oto nin had captured her yet again in her weakened state.

The answer that greeted her however was one that hardly surprise her, but held no worse implications. "THAT FUCKING KUMO BITCH!!! JUST WAIT TILL I GET MY HANDS ON HER!" Apparently Tsuchi Kin did not take kindly to being tied up. Just how the hell had this happened, Jiraiya was supposed to keep an eye on her...damn pervert was probably out there doing more of his research. Oh how she was gonna ring his neck when she found him again.

Tsunade calmed herself and immediately thought of the one place she knew she could find Ina if she were still in the village.

The Hokage tower.

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A few minutes later the door to the Hokage's office was found flying off its hinges as Tsunade burst into her office. Finding none other than the man she vowed to beat to a bloody pulp seated at her desk, a serious expression on his face.

"She's gone." He said after a minute. "I told her where she could find Naruto and is on her way there now."

"Why?" Tsunade asked through clenched teeth.

"Its cruel to her Tsunade. And while it may be stupid from a strategic point of view. Her brother and her lover are now enemies. One or both could lose their lives in this conflict she deserves to see them both. And I don't care what you say or do...I will stand by the decision I've made."

Tsunade's fists were clenching. She understood Jiraiya. God she understood him. But if Ina was next to Naruto that brings emotions into the picture, Naruto was the leader of their army. Emotional leaders made stupid decisions. Decisions that could lead to the destruction of this village. She understood him. But he was not saving himself from the beating she was about to dish out.

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The jinchuriki for the Nibi groaned in pain as consciousness slowly returned to her. The darkness began to fade from her vision and she saw a brown and black...blob in front of her. "Hey she's waking up?"

"Ohhhh...where am I." She groaned again feeling a pounding headache right between her eyes as if it was trying to drill a hole into her head.

"I hate to say this sister but uhh...you are now in prison block number six. Inmate number 589. Can you remember your name?" The voice pierced the haze in her mind and her eyes shot open as she remembered a single name very clearly.

Hatake Kakashi.

"Ohhh hell no." She growled.

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Hey guys here's the update. Good news. I have the ending for this fic mostly planned out. Bad news. I need to just fill in this one great big blank in my head between here and there as soon as that's done you will be seeing relatively fast updates for this fic until the end. However I am unsure how long that may take. If anyone has any suggestions or wishes to take an active role in the final design of this story then my IM is on AIM and my pen name is ld1449 no caps lock and no spaces. Thnx read and review please

1) Ata-Kai's character does not belong to me to those of you who can guess where he came from you can probably guess what his fighting stile will be in this fic.

2) Hehehe, I couldn't help but add a character from another of my stories. I just had to :p

Next update will either be Jedi or Twist of fate, after those two the void and hopefully again this one


	58. Kumo, Kiri and Suna

Here I am again, enjoy.

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Katsu the Yondaime Raikage of Kumogakure sighed as he read over the report he had received just moments before.

Apparently, even after three days of solid fighting Haku and his Kiri nin still continued their relentless assault on their border garison. Katsuie's strategies and stall tactics were delaying their advance but not stopping it entirely and soon the border garrison would fall and Haku and his forces would be able to pour into Kumo territory.

Katsu groaned, he still held hope that his long time friend Katsuie would be able to hold the border garrison long enough for the reinforcements he dispatched to arrive. When this whole mess had started he had requested Katsuie to leave the defense to another, partially in fear for his friends safety, and partially because the man was so much more organized and quick thinking than he was. In all reality it should be him sitting with this uniform and in this seat instead of him. But the sarcastic, intelligent and often times infuriating man had declined the offer. Stating that the rank far too much of an annoyance for him to ever consider accepting. Still, if he exhausted Haku's resources enough then the ice user would have no choice but to listen to his reasons why he had attacked Zabuza, and hopefully, they could salvage some small semblance of their former alliance and join against Orochimaru, who, as far as he knew still held Ina prisoner.

While he had been expending much of his focus on Haku and the Kiri nin advancing along their southern borders that did not mean he hadn't been taking some steps to help his former comrades of Kiri, Suna and Konoha. Scouts of his continually fed information to Konoha and Suna scouts over enemy defenses, high ranking ninja in charge of certain bases or troops, enemy troop movement and a special squad of his own Anbu guard dressed as rogue nin continually intercepted supply convoys of both Oto and Iwa.

If he could just get Haku to _listen_ to him for a few seconds then he was sure something could be done to make the raven haired ice user see that he had never wanted to betray them at all.

He sighed tiredly, stress lines, and darkening bags under his eyes showed just how much these events were wearing down on him. How his grandfather had handled it during the third great war and had still managed to keep his aging down to a minimum he would never know.

Still, incase his reinforcements didn't arrive in time to hold the fortress he had better start preparing Kumos ninja forces, already orders to call back high ranking ninja in far away lands had been sent out and many Jounins had upped the Gennin's training and Chuunin as well were being put through the grinder by seasoned Jounin leaders.

Various encampments and small garrisons had been errected a few hundred miles from both the border garrison and the village, creating a vast defensive network should the border garrison fall before he could fully prepare Kumo's defenses.

Katsu sighed tiredly as he rubbed his forehead what he needed now was a firm stiff drink...

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Battle cries of various ninja rang loudly through the courtyard of Kumo's border defense garrison as the troops fought to hold off the advancing Kiri ninja over the wall. The strong wooden gate buckled and cracked as numerous jutsu of different elements continued to smash against it, the protective chakra seals placed on it glowing and hissing from the strain the continuous barrage offered.

Finally with a great crash a single massive spear tore through the wooden barrier.

Katsuie sneered as he watched more Kiri nin pour in through the, now opened gate.

Grabbing one of his war fans he threw it high into the air, where it exploded into a bright red flare. A few seconds later, numerous explosions went off at the base of the building nearest the gate, about thirty feet. Slowly the wood creaked and the house toppled over in a massive crash, crushing the Kiri nin that were coming through the gate.

"Izumo!" He yelled, suddenly the black robed figure appeared infront of the rest of the stunned Kiri nin that had managed to avoid the falling structure and with speed few possessed, proceeded to carve into them.

Suddenly, as he went in for another kill, he caught sight of a foot approaching his face. Catching it with both hands he used the opponents leg to lift himself up to try and come down with an axe kick to the mans head, only to have his kick caught, he looked down and found the cold serpentine eyes of Haku staring back at him. He kicked down on the boy's chest with his free leg, at the same time as Haku attacked with an uppercut to the mans stomach sending them both sprawling across the floor.

They both got to their feet and took up their fighting stance Haku spared a glance to Katsuie who stood atop the wall, staring down onto the Mizukage with disdain and boredom. Haku snarled in anger before he looked around. His men were beginning to grow weary and who knows what other plans this man had up his sleeve.

So it was with great reluctance Haku cried out the retreat order. Sending one last hate filled glare at the two Kumo comanders he took his leave, determined to return the next day in order to finally finish them

As the dust settled over the battle field the Kumo nins almost collapsed in relief there was no loud cheer, no great cry of victory, only exhaustion, and the dread that tomorrow would bring yet another battle, one they did not think they could win.

Katsuie approached his black robed subordinate and spoke. "Izumo, begin gathering the dead and injured. Once your done, report back to me, the defenses must be repaired as best as possible."

The black robed figure nodded silently before he vanished in a wisp of smoke. Katsuie closed his eyes and took a deep, calming breath. He knew that hope of holding this base until the reinforcements arrived was a fools hope. But he also knew, that if he abandoned this place Haku and his Kiri nin would gain the foothold in the area too early in this conflict and that would cost Kumo, and it would cost it a lot. Not only because of the significant loss of morale, but also because Kumo would loose face in the eyes of its employers.

He knew that even if it was just for one more day, the longer he held this pass the longer Katsu had time to prepare Kumo's defenses, and the more of Kumo's high ranking ninja would return from their missions in far away lands.

Yes he definitely needed to hold this pass, no matter how much of a headache he knew it was going to be.

So with another deep breath he turned and made his way to help his men ready the battered defenses once again.

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Gaara stood over the rocky, jagged peak of a mountain overlooking the battlefield as his Suna ninja continued to push back the Iwa ninja. They were currently trying to take the Jikorotsu canyon pass, which cut through Iwa's high peaks straight into the former teritory of Kusa, now the western border of Oto and Suna itself, so securing this pass was not only nesesary to cut off Orochimaru's western escape route, but also to secure Suna itself while simultaneously securing a single secure path into Iwa territory.

Still, Gaara was concerned for his brothers. Naruto, though his advancing leaf ninja appeared to have the situation under control, his spies had begun reporting mysterious movements in Iwa indicating preparations for a massive joint counter attack focused on Naruto's leaf forces, Naruto was strong, but if the rumors he had heard of the Tsuchikage, one armed as he was, his annoying sworn brother would definitely have a very tough time dealing with both him and the snake nin should they join forces. Which was why he was advancing his troops as swiftly as possible into Iwa territory, hoping to force Iwa to focus on him and abandon their plan against Naruto.

And then there was still the matter of Haku to deal with. Gaara had seen Haku angry only a few times, but when he was he tended to act in a very rash and often unfocussed manner something that could prove disastrous in his new position as Mizukage. He needed to get to Kiri in order to calm him down and help him think straight.

He was brought out of his thoughts as one of the Suna nin appeared next to him. "Sir, the enemy forces are retreating, they lost about half their troops."

"And our casualties?"

"We're still holding strong sir, we lost about 1/7 of the assault force."

"I see, tell the men not to push themselves, and set up camp here for the night.

The Suna nin bowed to his commander. "Yes sir."

Gaara sighed before yet another presence made itself known to his tired mind.

Turning around he had to keep the irritated tick from his eyebrow as the smiling face of..."Hi hoodie"...guess who...

Gaara sighed and rubbed his forehead. "I thought I told Kankuro to explicitly keep you within Suna..." He deadpanned in an exasperated manner.

Tenten pouted crossing her arms infront of her chest. "Oh now isn't that just a swell greeting, after I came all the way from Suna to see you."

She walked straight up to the sand user and proceeded to poke him in the chest. "And I'll have you know hoodie, that I am a big girl that's perfectly cappable of taking care of herself. So leave your brother out of this...besides, its not like he didn't try to stop me." She shrugged innocently.

"And you escaped...how?"

Tenten grinned. "Its amazing what a nice solid kick can do don't ya agree?" She replied winking conspiratorially.

Her sly smile fell as Gaara closed the distance between them forcing her to look up into his diamond like eyes.

"Tenten." His voiced caused a small tingle to go up and down her spine, though she hid it well. "Are you sure you're alright?" He questioned with a hint of worry seeping into his voice.

Tenten smiled somewhat cheekilly. 'Aww hoodie, you really do care." She giggled at his miffed expression. Then she leaned up and gave him a soft peck on the cheek. "Thanks for worrying, but I'm fine hoddie."

Gaara smiled a small smile as he shook his head. 'When will you stop calling me that?"

In response she smirked as she walked past him, heading down to where the men had allready started making camp. "You know the answer to that."

Gaara stood at the cliff top for a few more seconds before he snorted, his face returning to its neutral expression. "Insufferable woman." Before he silently followed her.

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Well here ya go kinda short, but after I get finished with the next chapter everything should start to pick up considerably. Lack of inspiration for this fic is whats really keeping it from being updated the way it should be, but hopefully I should be able to get over it long enough to write up the final chapters which are allready planned out. Anyway read and review please.


	59. Ina's return

Here I am again, I'm gonna try to focus on this story, almost entirely from this point on until its finished. I need to get this and A twist of fate off my back so I can start new stories that I have in my head, more specifically, the Bleach, Lord of the Rings, Hellsing and Teen Titans xovers which have been gnawing at my brain for a good long while.

Anyway hope you enjoy this chap, after this it should become much easier to update this story seeing as how the next few chaps are easier than this one is.

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The roar of battle was the first sound heard as the sun rose over the horizon, its orange light filtering past the morning mist, allowing view to the warriors battling bellow.Just as Katsuie had expected Haku had come back. And just as he expected, the defenses were barely holding against the relentless assault.

The Kumo jounin side stepped an attack from one of the Kiri nins that had jumped over the wall and swiftly proceeded to snap his neck in a quick, smooth motion.The shadowy form of Izumo appeared next to him as he slashed the throat of a Kiri nin. "Katsuie, the outer defenses wont hold for very long."

"Don't you think I know that." The Kumo commander snapped irritably. "Hold the outer wall as long as you can, after that we'll fall back into the keep."Izumo nodded and was about to leap away when Katsuie grabbed his shoulder and turned him so he could look into the Kumo nins eyes. "If the defenses do not hold Izumo, and something happens to me you must get word back to Katsu in Kumo...understood?"

The shrouded Kumo nin nodded before he leapt away.

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Naruto grunted as he swung his blade, the razors edge slicing open an Oto nins stomach before his white clad form vanished from sight, the screams and battle cries of half a dozen more Oto nins silenced instantly a moment later.The blond Jinchuriki stumbled slightly as he regained his footing, almost a full 6 hours of non stop fighting was starting to take its toll and his legs were starting to hurt. Luckily he would have time to rest his sore muscles as he heard the call for retreat come from another Oto jounin a few dozen yards to his left.

He watched as the Oto nin fled the field, Konoha ninja chasing them the whole way as they used the retreat to cut mercilessly cut down any that lagged behind.Sasuke, Neji, Lee and Shikamaru shortly appeared next to him, their forms scraped and covered in fresh bloodstains. "Your orders?" Sasuke questioned placing his sword on his shoulder.

Naruto nodded. "Sasuke, lead three squads and advance another two miles as an advance force, Shikamaru, gather the wounded and have them treated. I'll head back and give the orders to move the camp and we'll meet up with Sasuke's team and set up camp there. Neji and Lee, gather and organize the rest of the men."

"And the dead?" Shikamaru questioned lazily as he crossed his arms.

Naruto paused uneasily for a moment before he spoke. "Leave the dead."

The four konoha jounin nodded before all five of them leapt off to accomplish their respective duties.

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Two figures watched on from a distance, both smiling in a somewhat grim yet proud manner. "He's really grown up hasn't he?" Shani said with a hint of melancholy pride in her voice. "Heh, yeah he has. But what else could you expect he is our son after all."

The vixen smirked. "Your right of course. But then again he did get most of his wits from me.""Hey!" The Yondaime called out indignantly.A single pair of spinning red Sharingan eyes watched them from a great distance, unseen to all.

"How interesting." The owner murmured before his form vanished in black smoke, carried off by a strong gust of wind. "Very interesting indeed."

When the figure vanished their smiles dropped. "You felt it too right?"

"Of course." Arashi answered. "Looks like things are really gona hit the fan soon huh?""Looks like it."

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Katsuie grunted as he blocked a sloppy swipe with a kunai, before he plunged his own kunai into the mans chest.Haku leapt high into the air, his form obscured by the bright light of the sun behind him. Katsuie looked up, wincing as the glare of the sun beat harshly down on his eyes. Not allowing him to properly see the incoming attack.

The kumo jounin leapt to the side as a massive ice dragon crashed down onto the part of the wall he had been standing on, demolishing an entire chunk of the wall. Katsuie skidded to a halt and snapped his eyes back to the general area he had last seen Haku.

He felt the wind shift behind him and snapped his head back in time to see Haku's cold eyes as the ice wielder slashed at him with his daggers.The Kumo jounin was quickly replaced by a log as Haku skidded to a stop before Katsuie exploded from the ground behind him. The Mizukage rolled forward avoiding a kunai stab aimed for the back of his head.

He spun back around to face his opponent, throwing a kunai before he charged forward, unsheathing his twin daggers. Katsuie caught the kunai in his free hand before he met Haku's charge with his own.

Demonic ice daggers clashed with kunai with a loud clang. Haku dug in his heels before he flipped over the Kumo jounin, landing behind him before his lunged again. Only some finely tuned reflexes allowed the Kumo nin to react in time to only get a slight graze on his cheek.He blocked several more attempts as Haku's relentless assault continued. Finally, he found an opening, grabbing Haku's extended arm before he pulled the ice wielder in, making him stumble forward. He shifted the kunai in his hand.

With a flash of silver a sharp pain went through Haku as the blade sliced deep into his left shoulder. Haku hissed in pain but quickly swung his dagger in his free hand.

Katsuie back flipped to avoid the blade and threw three shuriken with exploding tags on them. Haku using the dagger in his, injured, left arm blocked all three.When the weapons fell to the floor they immediately exploded. Katsuie's eyes narrowed for a moment before Haku leaped out of the smoke with a battle cry, his daggers already mid swing.

Katsuie immediately used his kunai to block, the impact of Haku's swing forced the Kumo jounin to stumble back. Haku repeatedly swung his daggers in an attempt to overpower Katsuie as the Kumo nin was forced back with the force of each swing.The Kumo nin grunted as he used his bent leg to lash out and kick Haku's feet right out from under him.

Haku recovered quickly and put his left hand on the ground. He ignored the slight pain that shot trough his arm that was still a hurting from Katsuie's earlier slash. He then brought both his legs and kicked Katsuie in the chest, sending the Anbu sprawling back and giving himself enough momentum to back flip into a ready stance.

Katsuie got to his feet and silently seethed before he rushed at Haku again.Haku swung the dagger in his right hand, aiming for Katsuie's neck. Katsuie rolled under the blade and got behind Haku. He turned on his heel and brought his kunai's to slice at Haku's mid section.Haku turned around fast and batted the blades away with a fast kick. Katsuie recovered and tried to leap and slash down on Haku as he passed over him.

Haku brought his blade up and blocked. Then with a swift movement he spun on his heel and kicked Katsuie as he was coming down.Katsuie felt the air leave his lungs in a rush before he flipped in mid air, skidding to a stop on his heels. He took out two more kunai from his pouch. He looked back to where he had seen Haku last, only to find an empty space. He heard footsteps approaching behind him.He twisted and turned the kunai blade in his hand before tried to swing at Haku's legs while he remained kneeling on the floor. Haku leaped over the man forming hand seals in mid air, Katsuie watched as dozens of ice needles formed all around him before they impaled him.

His form vanished in a puff of smoke.

In a blur of movement Haku's form vanished.The two fighters reappeared with their blades locked together. Katsuie mustered all of his strength and pushed Haku off of him making Haku stumble slightly. Katsuie then reared his right hand back and tried to stab Haku in the chest with the kunaiJust before the blade pierced his skin Haku regained his balance and jumped up. Katsuie's head went to follow him but when he looked up Haku was no longer there.

"Die."

Katsuie's eyes widened before he looked down, finding Haku crouched at his feet before the Mizukage delivered a lightning quick upward slash.Katsuie leaned back stumbling over himself before finally regaining himself and taking a stance. He touched his neck and the bottom of his chin, finding it wet with blood.

Just half a second too late and his jugular would have been taken out as well.And if the cold piercing gaze Haku was sending his way was any indication, he wasn't going to miss a second time.

Sakura, with one of her signature, super powered kicks sent another kuno nin flying back, his ribs on the right side of his chest practically crushed. She looked over the field, finding Haku fighting in the courtyard against the Kumo Anbu she had seen the other day. As she was about to leap down to help him a shadow passed over her head, and the sound of a chain moving through the air alerted her to an incoming attack.

She rolled forward in time to avoid a Kusagari (sickle with chain) from taking her head off. Spinning on her heel she found the black garbed form of Izumo standing behind her previous position, the Sickle back in his hands as the chain rattled noisily in his grip.

"Unwise." Was his simple statement before he vanished.

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Naruto entered his tent and was not surprised to find both of his parents waiting there.

"Well haven't you been busy." Arashi stated with a smirk as he appraised the bloodstains on his sons clothes.

Naruto smirked. "Why yes I have." He took a seat. "And, I've also come to a decision."

Now this caught their attention and both Arashi and Shani as the two raised eyebrows in silent questioning.

The blond Jinchuriki took a deep breath before he spoke. "I've thought long and hard over what you said mom. About Encablosa, and Nibel."

She nodded. "And?"

Naruto sighed. "Go back to the demon forest, gather the council, and warn the demon clans of Encablosa's possible resurrection."

"Naruto, you must understand, this isnt a matter of preparation, the last time Encablosa was revived he wiped out the most powerful of the demonic clans, the dragons, in less than a week, it was sheer luck that the first Ten-tailed dragon was able to stop him, and we don't even know how he did it."

Naruto looked at her, his gaze strong and unwavering. "I refuse to become a monster like him, just to keep him at bay."

They stared into each others eyes, one in silent measurement, the other with strong determination yet a hint of pleading.

"Dont ask me to do it, because my answer will always be the same."

After several more seconds of tense silence she sighed and nodded reluctantly. "Fine then. I will go."

Naruto smiled gratefully. "Thank you." He then looked to Arashi who had been watching the exchange silently from his place in the tent.

"Now, you however, will stay here, and keep a low profile, your our secret weapon against Oto and Iwa. If shit hits the fan, then you will reveal yourself. No sooner."

Arashi's features soured. "Hey, I'm the dad here, who says you can boss me around?"

Naruto shrugged and was about to answer when his face took on a look of mild surprise before he sniffed the air. The two other occupants of the tent eyed him strangely for a moment before his form vanished in a blur, the flap of the tent practically torn open as the boy exited in a rush.

The two turned their respective gazes onto each other before they too bolted out of the tent following shortly behind him.

A few moments later Naruto skidded to a halt in front of the camps "front" gates, where he then found the gate guard arguing with a bow wielding Kunoichi he would recognize anywhere.

"INA!" He yelled out in something akin to relief mixed with surprise.

Immediately the gate guard and the Kunoichi's eyes turned to him, both looking quite surprise before one broke out into a huge smile and dashed towards the leaf commander.

"Hey wait a minute!" She heard the guard yell out behind her, but paid no heed as she rushed forward, nearly tackling Naruto to the ground as she crashed her lips into his in a bruising kiss.

The guard scratched his head in a somewhat confused manner before his brilliant mind deduced that the girl had authorization to enter, and so he went back onto guard duty over the wooden walls of the camp.

The two parted for a brief moment before Naruto hugged her fiercely, almost afraid she would disappear if he didn't hold her close enough.

"I'm glad your alright." He spoke softly as he pulled away.

Meanwhile Arashi was watching the whole exchange a little ways behind the girl. He looked her over a few times. Nice shapely hips, well toned legs, long flowing black hair, decent sized breasts. Even he had to admit that his son had most certainly done well...very very well. A grin, not unlike Jiraiya's crossed his features.

Naruto's moment with his little Kunoichi as he caught sight of his father giving him the thumbs up a few feet behind Ina, in his line of sight. His grin told him everything that was left unsaid. 'You have done well my son.'

The blond mouthed a 'Get outa here' as Arashi continued smiling a shit eating smile. Naruto made a few wild hand gestures behind Ina's back for him to leave. He then saw a fist slam down onto the former Hokage's head sending him crashing down onto the floor with a visible lump forming on his head as his red headed wife kicked him out of the couples sight.

Ina, hearing a strange scuffling sound behind her, turned to look at what had caused the noise, only to find an empty "street" marked by the tents on either side of it.

"Did you hear something?" She questioned turning back around to face Naruto.

The blond laughed somewhat nervously. "Why no no nothing at all."

She raised a single eyebrow and was about to speak again when a sharp burning pain emanated from the curse seal on her shoulder. She grasped the offending area and hissed through her teeth before the pain started to ebb away.

Naruto's features twisted into one of worry. "Ina." Her hand griped his shoulder for support as her legs shook slightly. Finally, the pain died down, leaving her heaving for gulps of air. "Its alright, it comes and goes."

Naruto's worried expression didn't change. "You shouldn't have come in your condition."

"I had to." She answered back as she straightened completely. "I need to go to Kumo, and speak to Haku and Katsu, I have to stop them from fighting."

"No." He answered back firmly As his grim on her hand tightened. "Its too dangerous."

"I have to Naruto. Its my fault this whole thing started in the first place, If I had been stronger Orochimaru never would have captured me."

He looked deep into her blue eyes and sighed, finding her stubborn conviction as strong as ever within them. "Listen Orochimaru has plenty of spies all over the place, he probably knows that once your back up you'll try to make it back to Katsu and Haku. I almost have Rice country under my control. Let me finish that, secure a relatively safe route to Kumo and I will take you there personally, just give me a little time please Ina."

The Kumo kunoichi bit her lip in worry. Katsu was her brother, and Haku had become a dear brother to her as well. Finding out that she was partly responsible for Zabuza's death was bad enough if either Haku or Katsu harmed each other during this conflict she would never forgive herself.

Still she could tell that Naruto was right, and that it was smarter and safer to do as he asked.

She sighed and rested her forehead on his shoulder. "Alright." She sighed, the phantom pain in her neck vanishing completely as he wrapped his arms around her form pulling her in closer.

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A few minutes later Ina and Naruto entered his tent where they, much to the surprise of one Kumo kunoichi, found two smiling individuals waiting for them.

The red headed woman spoke up first. "Naruto...don't you have to introduce us to someone?"

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Sakura placed her arms above her in time to block a drop kick from the black garbed Izumo. With a heave she threw him off of her. The Kumo nin back flipped before landing on his feet, sending the sickle in a wide sweeping motion aiming for the medics side. Sakura took out a kunai and blocked the incoming attack. Before Izumo could pull back his weapon, Sakura gripped the chain and yanked hard, she expected him to release the weapon, from the force she yanked it with, but instead the Kumo nin jumped, and let the hard tug pull him towards the medic.

Sakura raised her leg to kick the man, only to have the Kumo nin, grasp her outstretched foot and use the leverage it provided to flip over her. Landing behind her, he pulled out a kunai, spinning it by the small hole on the handle by his finger he griped it tightly before he plunged it into her rib cage.

Sakura's eyes flashed white with pain, and with a last show of strength, spun around on her heel and backhanded the Kumo ninja as best she could.

Izumo skidded to a halt several yards away, visibly struggling to stand up from the tremendous impact. Sakura coughed up blood as she fell to her knees her hands, firmly yanking out the kunai, eliciting a cry of pain from the young kunoichi.

She threw the metal onto the floor with a noisy clattering sound before she started using her healing to close the wound.

Next to her, Izumo managed to stumble back onto his feet. He took out another kunai and began approaching her when a cry of pain, and a massive crash drew his attention elsewhere.

Haku stood over Katsuie's half buried form, apparently, one of the building walls had given way and the kumo strategist couldn't get out of the way in time. Haku raised his dagger and before the Kumo ninja could even hope to stop him, he brought the blade down, cutting Katsuie's throat wide open the cold fury in the ice wielders eyes never even wavered.

Izumo watched the dying eyes of his commander drift towards him and saw a small, almost unnoticeable nod in his direction.

He looked back to the pink haired medic who had recovered before he formed a simple hand seal "Retreat." Was his single whisper before he vanished into the night.

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Well here ya go, like I said I'm going to do my best to focus on this story and finish it so I can start new ones

Anyway reviews are fuel especially concerning this story so...REVIEW!!!!

Also if you want you guys can Vote on which should be my next xover, the Votes will not decide which one I will start next but I will take it into account since I more or less have all the xovers mentioned above planned out through and through and its kinda hard to decide which one to do first.

Anyway thanks, until next time.


	60. Deception

Back. Nothing much to say other than here ya go.

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"MOVE IT YOU MAGGOTS!" Was the yell heard, followed by the harsh crack of a whip and the cry of pain of another.

Yugito cursed as she hefted two buckets filled with stones, tied to a stick over her shoulders. She swore that that bastard Kakashi was going to pay for this. She was a ninja damnit, she was built for speed not brute force, the aches in her back from hefting such heavy stones could attest to that.

His plan was simple, she gains info on the inside while he does it from the outside, she could appreciate the necessity of this plan for sure, what she did not appreciate was that she got stuck with the more back breaking part of the job.

So far she had gathered that the Shinobi prisoners had their chakra sealed off by two layered element seals on the shackles, Kakashi had luckily managed to fake hers before he threw her to the wolves so to speak.

Still, that just made it all the more difficult to resist the temptation to kill one of her guards.

The mine was pretty extensive, plenty of shadows and small openings in which she could easily hide a body.

That fact was made painfully clear as another crack of a whip reached her ears, shortly followed by a blinding, burning pain across her whole back.It sent stars through her vision and drove the breath from her. She hissed through her teeth as she stumbled forward. Craning her neck back as best she could, she managed to catch sight of her torn, sack cloth shirt and the smirking face of one of the guards.

"Pick up the pace bitch. Next time I wont hit you so softly" The man said with an amused chuckle.

Yugito's hackles rose and as she glared at the man with all she was worth, a sound, which resembled that of a hissing cat rose from the back of her throat. But the man simply kept on smirking that smug smirk of his.

She resigned to rip his throat out later as she shifted the heavy buckets onto her shoulders and stood up again. wincing with every step that raced a slow, burning pain up and down her back. Every step was now a promise of more pain as she aggravated her new injury, thankfully, Nibi was already trying to heal it, but her need to keep a low profile had her trying to hold back the creatures healing effect.

Shortly after she reached the place where she had to deposit her load and with a minor sigh of relief and then silently groaned as she realized she would soon have to carry another one.

As she began making her way back a hand suddenly shot out from the darkness and grabbed the collar of her shirt, yanking her off to the side, to swift for any of the low level guard ninja to catch.

Her eyes snapped open finding the smiling face of one Hatake Kakashi "Surprise." He whispered before he was forced to block a knee headed to his groin. "Now that's not very pleasant." He said with a small twitch of his eyebrow as he glared at the girl.

She hissed, the sound again reminding him of a feral cat. "Damn right its not pleasant ass hole, why do I have to pretend to be the prisoner?"

He waved her indignity away with a small wave of his hand and spoke. "We'll argue later look, I figured out how they're managing to make so many seals to hold the prisoners."

"And?" She questioned somewhat anxiously, the sooner they crippled this operation the sooner she could get the hell out of here.

"They use a special 'master' seal which basically powers all the others. It was designed by Orochimaru himself from what I can gather. It simplifies the process of making seals to the point where a chuunin with little or no experience in sealing can make the low level seals they're using now. If we destroy it the seals go down and we can make our escape."

She raised a single slender, skeptical eyebrow. "To easy, what's the catch?"

Kakashi's face remained neutral. "Catch is simple, there are roughly ten or so Jounin level ninja guarding it, with an alarm button that will quickly alert all other ninja of the area. I'm good but even I cant beat twelve Jounins, let alone stop them from pressing a button. And even after that there's still the seal itself that needs to be destroyed, not an easy task according to the info I've gathered."

Yugito opened her mouth to speak when suddenly, Kakashi's hand shot out, wrapped around her throat and slammed her against the wall behind her. Searing pain shot up and down hers spine as the hard stone scraped against her injury. He leaned forward and she had to bite down the reflex to strike out at him when he whispered into her ear "Struggle."

Momentarily confused by his command, it wasn't until she saw a light approaching from around the corner that she obeyed.

"Hey what the hell is this."

She continued to struggle as Kakashi pulled back, the smirk on his lips fitting the current act he was putting up to a T. "Just having a little fun boss." His voice was now grating, and reminded her of one of her sleazy guards a lot more than she felt comfortable with.

The man that had come to check up on them smirked in a decidedly cruel way as he chuckled. "Hehehe, try not to damage her to much." Before he finally walked away.

As the light slowly faded Kakashi released his grip on her and pulled back. "Alright, so what I think you should do is...are you alright?" He questioned as he watched the girl wince and hiss in pain as she pulled herself away from the wall, the gritty, tiny stones aggravating her injury as they dug into it.

"Yeah I'm fine." She gritted out as she straightened.

Catching the red stain on the stone wall behind her he griped her shoulder much more gently than before and made her turn her back to him, catching sight of the nasty, bleeding tear across her back.

"What happened?"

"One of the guards decided he needed more practice with the whip." She hissed trying to fix the shirt so it covered her back better. "I'll be fine soon. I just have to slow the healing to as normal a pace as possible, but Nibi wont let it get infected or anything so it'll be fine."

"Let me see." He said gently as he moved the shirt aside. It was a very bad lashing they gave her, and if not for the demon inside of her it could easily get infected in this environment. His hand gained a soft green glow as it approached her back.

"Stop, I just told you it needs to heal naturally otherwise they'll get suspicious." She hissed through her teeth low enough so that no one overheard her.

"I know." He said calmly. "But this isn't for healing, its a simple numbing technique, should ease the pain."

A moment later a smooth cooling sensation went over her back, followed shortly after by a warm tingly feeling as the pain diminished.

Finally, the pain was gone and she straightened. "Thank you." She said adjusting her shirt again.

Kakashi nodded. "Its fine. Like I said what I think you should do is try to sabotage certain areas of the mine, like the quarry and the lifts. I'll start sabotaging other areas of the mine, hopefully, in order to catch the person that's sabotaging them, they'll thin the guards enough for you and me to be able to kill the remaining guards and destroy the seal. Agreed?"

At her nod he continued. "Good. Now head back before someone notices."

She placed the two buckets over her shoulders again and turned to face him. "Oh and by the way..."

The air left Kakashi's entire being in a flash as a kick connected solidly with his nuts. He coughed, his eyes bulged out as his hand flew protectively over his abused privates before he fell onto his knee's and leaned forward, his face resting against the solid granite, letting out a slow, moan of agony.

"I owed ya that one." She said before turning on her heel and walking out.

Kakashi groaned and coughed again. "F-fucking bitch..." he gasped out as he glared at the back of her head.

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Katsu collapsed onto his chair his hand going to his brow where it shadowed his eyes. "Katsuie...is dead?"

"Yes Raikage-sama." Izumo's shadowed and bowed form. "I witnessed the event with my own eyes. The Mizukage struck him down."

Katsu's fist clenched as he held back tears for his fallen comrade. "And the rest of the men?"

"They are being treated."

Katsu nodded as his eyes took on a hardened edge as he stood up. "Assemble intercept teams, I want you to stall the Kiri nins as much as possible, I don't care what it takes, attacking supply routes, raids, anything. We'll assemble our troops outside of Kumo, on the Zakato fields."

Izumo bowed. "Very well." before he vanished in a cloud of smoke.

Katsu walked to the balcony, his expression stony as ice as he watched the sunset. "Very well Haku...if you want a war, I'll give you a war."

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Orochimaru walked down the halls of his lair, the dark shadows only slightly illuminated by the light of the torches on the wall. The one armed Tsuchikage at his side.

"I see." The Tsuchikage, Ata-Kai spoke. "So you wish us to sneak our Iwa troops to reinforce yours, push through Konoha's lines, and go around to attack Kiri's rear and left flank?"

"Yes" The snake sannin answered simply. Kumo is having difficulty, apparently, not everyone agrees with the war. Luckilly, we have solved that problem."

"How did you do that?" Ata-kai asked.

"Oh it was a very simple process, wasn't it...Katsuie?"

The shadows of the halls shifted before the Kumo Anbu appeared slightly behind the two men. "Indeed it was, now that Izumo is spreading the word among the population that the Mizukage killed a beaten opponent without mercy it will indeed bring more support for the war effort."

"I see." Ata-Kai spoke as he nodded. He ignored the small feeling of dread and trepidation creeping up and down his spine. The little something telling him not to trust the feared snake sannin or this new Kumo ninja. However, many in his own village wanted another shot at Konoha and it could cause some problems if he had never entered the war effort, or if he decided to pull out. He could understand to a degree, after all, it was the professor that had nearly ending his career when he took his arm.

Orochimaru smiled at the Kumo Anbu. While many in Kumo did not want the war, many more held grudges to both Suna and Konoha. Katsuie was one of them. His father and mother were killed by Sasori of the red sands when he still served Suna and Hatake Kakashi respectively. And so with the simple promise of revenge, a decent sum of money, which he had no intentions of paying and a place as an Anbu captain in Oto, the boy decided it was good enough and had decided to assist him.

Ata-Kai cleared his throat. "Very well then expect my ninja's arival in one weeks time. I shall return to Iwa as soon as they arrive in order to lead the defense against Suna."

Orochimaru nodded as he smiled his sick smile. "As you wish Tsuchikage dono." He said with a bow which was only slightly mocking. The Tsuchikage narrowed his eyes before he turned and left down the hall, leaving the snake and the Kumo Anbu to themselves.

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Sakura sighed as she finished bandaging yet another injury. The castle had been taken with minimal casualties in comparison to Kumo's losses but she could tell that battle wearyness was beginning to take its toll on the men, only some of the newer arrivals from Kiri, and others who were adamant for revenge against Kumo appeared to still have energy.

The man thanked her weakly, half his features bandaged, his slightly pained expression turning his thankful smile more into a grimace.

She offered a kind smile back but having spent all day treating injury after injury her body was dead tired. She stood and made her way back to her tent.

She kicked off her shoes and with a moan she collapsed onto her bed.

As she lay there, listening, as the movement of the soldiers outside faded into background noise she let her mind wander to Haku.

The Mizukage, her leader...her friend.

She had seen him today, after the battle. But it wasn't the same person, it wasn't the same Haku. She saw, as he observed the dead and dying bodies of the Kumo nin and for a moment, just for a moment. She had seen a gleam of satisfaction in his eyes.

And it was terrifying.

Never did she think Haku, the kind gentle man she had come to know and care for could ever look as cruel as he did then. It just felt so wrong, so foreign, it sent a chill down her spine every time she thought of it.

She hadn't approached him, she had avoided him as best she could. Tears came to her eyes as she buried her face into her pillow. "Haku...just what is happening to you?"

That night Haruno Sakura cried herself to sleep. weeping for her friend, who was now more than ever, lost to his own darkness.

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Kinda short I know. Anyway, read and review please


	61. Ready to escape?

Here ya go.

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They had been here for two weeks...well...at least she thought it was two weeks she couldn't really tell since they were underground, but she thought it was two weeks. She was currently sitting on the floor in one of the massive mass holding cells with fifty to seventy five prisoners cramped in there to sleep. The smell was horrendous, seeing as how the prisoners got a hose down once a week. Worse than that personal space did not exist in these places, there was barely three inches between everyone in here, thus the heat from the collective body warmth of everyone made this place unbearably disgusting.

Luckily Kakashi's plan of sabotaging the Mining prison had been working out rather well, just yesterday the conveyor belt had malfunctioned, injuring two of the guards and one of the prisoners close to it. Four days ago she had sabotaged the furnaces and steam engines which had also injured several more guards and mine workers.

And as Kakashi had predicted the guards were on edge and had taken out some of the guards around the central seal in order to guard other areas of the mine in hopes that they could catch the perpetrator. However, in hindsight, due to the increased tension of the guards they abused the prisoners all the more, something that did not sit well with Yugito, especially considering that she was one of the prisoners. Those whips hurt horribly and if this kept up she wouldn't be able to contribute anything when Kakashi finally decided to make his move.

She was currently getting these injuries treated by another of the prisoners. As all prisons somehow the inmates got what they needed from the outside without the guards knowing or caring. He was an elderly man, she didn't even know his name he appeared to be in his mid to late fifties, a scar went down his left eye, which was slightly discolored, possibly due to when he received the injury itself along with a gray messy beard covering the lower half of his face he was using some spare bandages he had to patch her up. The bandages weren't in the best condition but she was grateful to him none the less, especially considering he seemed to sport a few injuries from the guards himself.

"There we go lass." The older mans voice reached her ears, slightly raspy and tired but nonetheless kind in its tone. "Now dear, try to keep off those for a few days less they get infected yes?" He said before leaning back against the wall.

Yugito nodded as she secured her shirt back over her shoulders, before she turned to face him. "Thank you. I didn't get your name though." She said shifting as far as she could from the other occupants of the room.

The old man smiled and spoke. "My name is Koga. And yours my dear

"Yugito...Nii Yugito." She said while eyeing the man somewhat strangely.

Koga smiled and nodded. "I see, pleased to meet you Yugito-san." He said before he leaned his head against the wall. "So my dear, what corner of the world were you taken from?" He questioned somewhat jovially.

She hesitated for a moment before she decided to answer truthfully "Kumo, I'm from Kumo."

Koga snorted. "I see so Orochimaru has betrayed both his allies. I am from Iwa my dear."

Yugito bit back the retort that Kumo was not really allied with Oto and instead nodded her head. "Yes, the Oto nins, ticked my squad to follow them and ambushed us along the way.

Koga nodded. "That snake, if we ever get out of here by god the Tsuchikage will here of his treachery."

Yugito nodded as she mumbled. "That'll be sooner than you think."

The man seemed to pick up her voice as he looked at her somewhat curiously. "What was that lass?"

Yugito was saved as the guard outside their cell door looked in and yelled. "ALLRIGHT YOU WORTHLESS SHITS, LIGHTS OUT!" And without another word the overhead lights were shut off, bathing them in complete darkness.

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Meanwhile up above, The Konoha forces had continued their steady advance forward demolishing the Oto defense forces. They soon arrived and surrounded the walled Oto village, the main stronghold Oto held within rice country. Once this fortress fell, nothing could prevent Konoha from launching attacks to either Iwa, Kumo, or the rest of Oto which now resided in the recently unified marshlands of Kusa, Ame and Taki.

Standing on a hill which offered a clear view of the city they would soon lay siege to Naruto stood next to Ina and his father. Shani had left almost two days ago to the demon forest.

"Finally we're here, one step closer to killing that blasted snake once and for all." Naruto said with a somewhat sadistic grin.

Ina nodded as she grasped his hand in hers. "I cant wait." She spoke with a sadistic smile of her own.

Behind them, Arashi smiled as he watched their interaction. The girl was quite interesting he had to admit. She had brains to go with her looks and a fire in her that reminded him of his own wife.

Still even he had to admit that the anticipation of finally killing the dreaded sannin was not one he was immune to and he hadn't even been here for his most recent transgressions.

Naruto turned to look at the Kunoichi as he spoke. "After this, I'll personally take you to go see Haku and Katsu. Hopefully, we can stop them before this escalates anymore than it already has."

She nodded and smiled gratefully, hiding the worry in her eyes as best she could.

"Thank you Naruto."

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Yugito slept as best she could in the dark floor of the cavern.

The restless sleep was interrupted however as she felt a hand latch over her mouth, muffling her scream before she snapped her eyes above to catch sight of her assailant and found the now masked visage of Kakashi, his single Sharingan eye staring back down at her.

Without saying anything else Kakashi held up a single Kunai pouch with some stolen Shinobi clothes and she immediately knew it was time.

To make their escape.

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Here ya go, again kinda short I know. This was mainly a filler chaps. But don't worry the next chapter will be longer and I'll finally be able to bring a lot of things to ahead and will make it immensely easier to write seeing as how it will focuss around a lot of action scenes.

Next update will hopefully be out by next week or the following one at some point If I can I'll squeeze in another update for Jedi or Void, but not making any promises, after all, finals are right around the corner.


	62. A sudden turn

Here I am again my vertigo for LS has died down somewhat after that last chapter, so I can again focuss a little on finishing this piece. 

Here's the chap for you all.

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Kakashi and Yugito silently slipped through the shadows of the mining prison. Slowly making their way to the chamber which held the master seal within. The guards, drunk, overconfident and complacent as they were, were easy to slip past with their superior stealth skills.

The darkness that was not reached by torchlight covered their forms like a second skin. Their footsteps, unheard as they seemed to glide over the gravel beneath them, leaving nothing of their presence behind.

The shadows of the mine shifted as Kakashi's masked visage seemingly materialized from them, the gleaming, ruby red Sharingan spinning slowly as it scanned the area for Genjutsu and traps.

With a simple hand gesture from the copy nin Yugito too appeared from the shadows, now back in traditional Shinobi gear. The girl's eyes shown her anticipation for the coming fight, a chance to finally turn the tables on her abusive captors.

The two rounded the corner, where they found at the end of the passage a faint purplish glow being emitted.

"That's it." Kakashi whispered into her ear. "I did some scouting before hand and found two entrances into the place, this the main entrance." And another entrance from the jounin guards living quarters. I estimate that these guards shifts are about to end and the others start in a few minutes, meaning these guys are tired."

Yugito nodded gesturing him to continue.

Kakashi then gestured to the passage before him. "I say we use smoke bombs, you get rid of the two guards closest to the alarm however you can, they're on the left side of the room. I'll use a Chidori to collapse the entranceway from the guards living area, cutting off their reinforcements. If we act fast and precise we may have a chance of winning here.

Yugito nodded but decided to speak her two cents on the strategy. "Don't you think it should be the other way around though? You are faster, and the Sharingan allows you to be more accurate, you'd have a better chance of hitting the guards. And while your chidori is strong do you really think you can collapse a cave ceiling with just one? If you use more than that you'll tire yourself out and our chances of beating the guards around the area will be alot less."

Kakashi looked at her through dual colored eyes. There was a momentary pause before he spoke again. "Your right but the reason I chose it this way is because as far as I know only with the Neko's chakra could you bring that ceiling down quick enough. No offense but that didn't exactly have the precision of a scalpel last time I saw it. I'm not sure if you could destroy just that segment instead of bringing the whole place down around our ears."

Yugito's eyes narrowed in annoyance, her hackles rising at the copy ninja's presumptions. "I assure you I am not some amateur gennin . If I tell you I can do it then I can do it."

Kakashi moved his arms in a placating manner. "Okay, okay no need to get angry. If you really think you can do it, then you got it, like I said you were right, I wasn't sure if just one chidori could do the job."

Her anger simmered down at his admission before she looked back to the faint purple light at the end of the passageway.

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Naruto stood in the war room, overlooking a map of the city they were about to lay siege to. Around him were Shikamaru, Sasuke, Rock Lee, Neji and Ina. Many of the Konoha ninja who knew her personally were overjoyed at the girls safe and unharmed appearance while others, who did not know her but from reputation had been wary that one of their supposed betrayers had been allowed so readily and openly within the camp and questioned if Naruto's judgement as a leader was being clouded by his personal feelings for the girl.

"Our scouts report that the north wall is the weakest of them all this is where we should strike." Sasuke spoke as he glared into the eyes of the shadow user.

Shikamaru slapped his forehead in what seemed like exasperation. "Goddamn it! Orochimaru knows the weakest point in these defenses is the north wall so obviously he would assign more men to it. I think we should attack the eastern wall, its not the strongest, and its not the weakest meaning our men would have an easier time at breaching it if we focus the main forces there than if they attacked the north or western walls."

"That makes absolutely no sense what so ever!" The Sharingan user gritted through clenched teeth.

As the two, (or at least Sasuke) looked like they were about to come to blows over the matter Ina decided to be the peacemaker. "Boys, why don't we just..."

She was interrupted as the drapes at the entrance of the tent opened and a familiar young Kunoichi ran through stopping at the foot of the table.

"Hanabi!" Naruto said standing straighter as he looked into the somewhat urgent eyes of his former student who had made chuunin just one year prior to the start of this war. "Are you alright? Where are Taka and Yoshinari?"

She breathed heavy for a moment taking in some much needed air into her lungs as it looked like she had run a marathon full sprint non stop. Beads of sweat marred her forehead, her straight hair sticking to it as it too was drenched in sweat.

"They're fine." She gasped out. "I'm the fastest, so I came on ahead there's an urgent message from the border garrison." She said handing him the scroll as she fell to her knees.

About two weeks after the start of the war, Naruto's old students had been assigned as a Scout/tracking team. And had been placed along the north eastern borders, carrying messages to and fro. While he wished he could have his students near him so as he could help them incase some thing came up he knew they were both more useful and safer away from the front lines.

Hanabi felt a pair of slender arms help her to her feet and pull her up. Looking up she found the warm blue eyes of Ina staring at her with slight worry. "Lady Ina?" The girl gasped in a somewhat astonished voice. "Word around Kumo is that you were kidnapped by Orochimaru, how..."

"Naruto saved me before Orochimaru could escape." The girl answered quickly as she placed a stray strand of Hanabi's hair behind her ear. "Are you sure your alright, what could possibly be so important you had to run so long so quickly."

Hanabi's eyes suddenly grew nervous as she looked to the left and to the right, avoiding Ina's gaze as best she could.

"Hanabi..." Ina questioned confused by the young girls behavior.

"Ina." Naruto's voice drew her attention back to him. His expression grim.

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Shani took in a deep breath as she slowly stepped onto the stone platform. It glowed blue for a moment before it began rising above the ground, blue flames ignighting around her form, bathing the room in its eerie light. Soon more platforms rose along with her own, eight others to be precise and soon eight great beasts materialized above the platforms their massive forms magnificent and breathtaking in their glory.

Soon, they each looked onto her form some eyes surprised, others indifferent, others angry and others pleased.

She placed a confident smirk on her features. "My fellow lords...it has been a long time since I have gathered with you like this."

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Arashi sighed in a somewhat bored manner. For days on end he had been cooped up in this tent, keeping as low a profile as humanly possible. And it was beginning to eat away at his mind. The sheer BOREDOM of it all was chipping away at his sanity. If something didn't happen soon he was gonna...

His thoughts were interrupted by his son and his son's girlfriend as the two entered the tent like a pair of wild horses. Quickly going for their equipment they began to strap it onto their forms and arm themselves as best and quickly as they could.

"Whats going on?" He questioned standing up. "I thought the siege wasn't supposed to begin for another two days or so."

"Its not." Naruto answered quickly. "The scouts have just reported that Kiri is marching onto Kumo and Katsu is marshaling his army in preparation to meet him. We have to go and stop them before either one of them end up doing something stupid."

"Bu-but what about Oto." Arashi questioned somewhat incredulously.

Naruto looked to him and smirked. "Your taking my place, put a henge on you and keep it up untill I get back. If Orochimaru gets wind of my leaving he'll send the entire Oto army on the offensive. If they think your me then it can work out both ways Orochi doesn't attack and we stall for time or he attacks and you give him a nice surprise."

"But wait a minute how the hell am I supposed to..."

"No time." Naruto interrupted, at top speed even transformed there's a risk I may not make it in time." Naruto interrupted before he grabbed Ina by the waist.

"I'm sorry for this Arashi-san." Ina managed to say before the two of them vanished in a flash of white light.

Arashi rubbed his eyes to remove the dots from his vision before he looked around the tent.

Suddenly another person entered the tent, the kid he recognized Naruto called Shikamaru he noticed before he managed to turn his back so the kid didn't see his face as he put up the henge.. "Naruto what do we do about Kumo and Kiri?"

"Nothing." Arashi answered quickly, his voice emulating that of his son. "We cant do anything about it right now. Speed up the preparations for the siege, lets try and get it over with as quickly as possible."

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes at the blond. Never would Naruto simply give up on helping one of his friends so easily. Something was off."

"Where's Ina?" The shadow user suddenly questioned.

Thinking flash the former Hokage formed a shadow clone behind the young jounin, forming it with no hand seals and allowing it to form a henge. "I'm right here Shikamaru." The clone said praying he had gotten the name right.

Shikamaru spun on his heel looking at the girl somewhat surprised. He nodded before he let her pass into the tent.

Arashi then looked to the young Shadow user and spoke. "Go, Shikamaru we need those preparations finished as quickly as possible."

Through somewhat suspicious eyes Shikamaru nodded and left the tent.

Arashi sighed in relief before he dispelled both the clone and the henge. "Damn it kid...oh well I did want this to get a bit more exciting.

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"So what are you planning to do when you get out of this hell hole?" One Oto jounin spoke to another as the two stood near the massive, intricate sealing pattern over the floor.

"Me? Gonna retire, put all this crap behind me, maybe get a little house near snow country with my wife and kid. I always did like winter times."

"Really? Nah me, I plan to keep this up for a few more years, get into Anbu. That way when I retire medical insurance is better, you retire now the coverage is almost ridiculously limited, especially with how expensive some medical procedures can be.

"Meh I guess. I just really want out of this business ya know? This is some messed up shit we're doing to these prisoners here. If this is what it takes to win a war, I want no part in any future ones."

The other man was about to speak when suddenly four smoke bombs rolled in through the main entrance before they exploded, bathing the room with the thick blinding substance.

"What the he-grk." One mans scream of surprise was cut off as a kunai was buried deep into his throat. The man next to him also did not have a chance to process what had happened before another kunai cut open the artery near his thigh, he screamed as he fell to the floor, his strength leaving him as the artery bleed out. He tried to stand, to crawl to the alarm to call for help but it was too far, and the blood loss to much as he could no longer feel his legs.

As his vision darkened the last thing he saw was the slowly spinning form of the copy wheel eye and the black, purple flames of a demon.

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Naruto and Ina rushed through the trees, heading north by north east towards Kumo. Suddenly Naruto stopped in a nearby clearing as dusk approached. "This should be far enough." He said.

"What do you mean?" Ina asked impatient and confused by her boyfriends suden stop.

Naruto suddenly closed his eyes as a dark shroud consumed his form, two bat like leathery wings tearing open from his back before he hunched over on all fours, his form growing larger and larger. His fingers growing scales and turning into massive talons, his face lengthening as razor sharp teeth replaced dull human ones. His neck lengthening as four horns grew atop his head and a spikes grew upon his tail.

Ina gasped in awe at the transformation. She had always known about them, and had seen his simpler transformations many times. But she had never seen his full form. She wished it was under different circumstances in order to truly appreciate the magnificence of it. The sheer raw power she felt rolling off of him was amazing and the thin haze of a dark mist which hovered around his form only added to the air of menace yet subtle grace he held in this form.

Glowing ruby red eyes shifted onto hers as he lowered his neck down, indicating the silent command to get on.

Placing her bow on her back she carefully got one foot over and climbed on. Naruto lifted himself slowly, allowing her to adjust to the shift in motion and gain her bearings.

After a few moments he spread his wings and roared, dark purple flames shooting out of his mouth as he did so and with a great, mighty flap of his wings he took to the steadily approaching night sky towards Kumo.

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Well here ya go, a little longer than all of the other recent chapters. I hope you enjoyed it, things are finally coming to ahead.

Anyway read and review please.

Next update is Jedi or Lost Soul again


	63. The deep breath, before the plunge

Here I am again! With a few chapters left for this story I'm hoping to finish it at least by the time Christmas or new years rolls around. Once I do I'll either start a new fic or focus on ATOF as best I can or try to do both.

Anyway here's your new chapter.

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Orochimaru cursed to himself as he walked a brisk pace through the halls of his hidden lair near the borders of Rice and Iwa. Just moments ago he had received word that a massive prison riot had broken out all over the mining tunnels and his guards were unable to defeat or even contain the mess that this was quickly transforming into. If those ninja reached the surface and escaped they would head off to their respective nations and he'd have ALL the elemental nations, even his own gunning for his head. He was strong but he was not stupid, already he had dispatched emergency orders to deeply reserve troops, hopefully they would be able to stop, or at the very least stall them long enough for him to defeat the Uzumaki brat, and for Kumo and Kiri to tear themselves apart. Then, once he used the Tsuchikage to the last of his usefulness he would destroy the fool. If any of those damn prisoners escaped however, it would be him that would be destroyed.

Pushing open the massive doors of his conference room Orochimaru caught sight of the Tsuchikage and Katsu.

Ata-Kai looked to the snake sannin before he spoke. "Orochimaru, what is happening, everyone I have seen around this base seems panicked and confused." Taking a better look at the snake sannin, he raised a silent eyebrow in questioning before he spoke. "You too seem somewhat agitated."

Orochimaru held back a growl before he spoke as calm and collected as he possibly could. "You need not concern yourself Tsuchikage-sama. Its just a few prison riots have broken out in the P.O.W camps in the surface, it has happened in conjunction with an approaching attack on my central base in Rice country. It is nothing you need con-"

"OROCHIMARU-SAMA"  
"WHAT!" The snake sannin roared as he turned around, freezing the fool messenger in his tracks from the wave of killing intent that suddenly hit him. Hastily bowing the man spoke. "My lord I...I bear a message from the scouts near Kumo."

Orochimaru seethed, the last thing he needed was MORE bad news. As angry as he was he still had the mind to not allow the Tsuchikage to possibly overhear any sensitive information this one might have. Walking over he roughly hauled the man to his feet and pulled him off to the side. "What is it you fool?"

Shivering from the cold fear the man spoke as low as he could, but loud enough for the snake to still hear. "My lord...the scouts near Kumo say that Ina of Kumo is riding some great winged beast towards the plains of Yi ling outside of Kumo where Haku and Katsu shall meet in battle."

Orochimaru paused for a moment before a slow cruel smirk formed on his lips as the cogs in his twisted mind formed its plan. Finally a good way to eliminate all of his enemies in one swift blow.

Placing on his most serious face the snake turned and spoke. "Tsuchikage-dono, we have just received word. The leader of the Konoha attack force, is secretly moving to Kumo in order to assist Kiri in its assault. Should he arrive Katsu's chances of victory against both the Mizukage, Haku and the Uzumaki boy are slim."

Ata-Kai nodded. "I see. So what would you like me to do?" He questioned, his voice hiding his suspicion of the snake sannin.

Orochimaru nodded. "I would like you and young Katsuie here to ambush and attack the Uzumaki boy on his way to the battle. I will deal with this attack on my base as well as the prison riots and will join you shortly or at the least send you additional troops to assist you."

The Tsuchikage nodded, his eyes narrowing in suspicion which he quickly shrugged off before he turned to Katsuie. "Come on boy we leave now if we wish to make it in time to intercept the Uzumaki child." With that said the one armed ninja turned and left the room, Katsuie following silently behind him. Before he left the room however Orochimaru's spine chilling voice slithered into his ear. "Once your mission is done, kill the Tsuchikage."

Nodding silently the young Kumo nin left the room following the older nin.

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Shani looked over the demon lords sitting among the council with a somewhat nostalgic smile appearing on her lips.

The Lion, Miratoku stepped forward on his platform before he spoke. It is good to see you here again Shani. It has been too long indeed child."

The fox demoness smiled towards her old friend. "Thank you Miratoku, it has indeed been too long."

Hachimata snorted in contempt. "Not long enough." The snake growled to itself before it looked at the woman through narrowed eyes. "Why have you called us here fool girl? I have better things to do than to look at you all day."

Shani's own growls reverberated through the chamber as her chakra flared, taking the form of a bright orange flame as she glared at the snake who glared right back. Her experience with the snakes had never been pleasant, infact the snake clan had always been borderline hostile towards nearly all the demon clans, but more so with the Kitsune.

"Enough both of you." Miratoku growled. "Shani, while it is good to see you well again I myself must also admit that our time is precious. There is much chaos in the land and I sense a great unease within the earth itself."

She nodded. "Very well I will get right to the point then. The dark being Encablosa may soon be upon us once again!"

At her clear declaration the entire council of Demons let out simultaneous roars of disbelief, outrage and fear.

"How can this be? Encablosa was defeated years ago."

"That abomination returning to the realm of the living again?"

"This is unacceptable."

"SILENCE!" Taroshi the silent wolf demon roared. As the panic died down he looked to Shani. "Now, please explain yourself Shani, even stating that vile beings name is nearly forbidden within this hallowed ground to state that he is returning..."

Shani nodded. "I understand your fears." She paused before she spoke. "It is the power of the dragon blade itself that will revive the fallen Encablosa."

Hachimata hissed. "It is your son we entrusted the blade to. Is he the cause of this?"

"No." Shani said firmly. "My son, as well as all of you were unaware of the swords special powers. Every time he uses the power for good. The seal holding Encablosa is weakened. For whatever reason, it is weakening now faster than ever before."

"Then simply tell that simpleton son of yours to stop using the sword for good." Hachimata hissed at her.

"While that would be easy for a cowardly vile snake such as you Hachimata." She hissed back "But unlike you, my son isn't cold blooded."

"Well either he gets that way or we all die you little"

"ENOUGH!" Miratoku roared again stopping the two demons before they came to blows as they sometimes did. "Shani I understand your sons position however, allowing Encablosa to escape his seal just to uphold his honor or some sense of virtue is foolish and selfish. He will place the entire world in jeopardy of falling into darkness it has not known since the beginning of its time.

Shani sighed. "I merely told you all this to warn you of the coming danger, whatever you all choose to do to prepare for it is up to you." Looking to Hachimata she decided to add one last comment. "Be warned however that if my son is harmed by any of you in some misguided attempt to prevent Encablosa's revival I will personally kill you myself."

That being said there was a bright flare of her chakra before each of the demon leaders vanished from their previous positions. Returning to whatever realm they had once come from.

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Haku stood before his army of Kiri nins as each of them formed ranks in preparation for the coming battle. "Men!" He yelled catching the attention of the addressed ninja. He began pacing to and fro as he spoke. "I know that you are all tired, hungry and injured. It has been a long hard journey since I began this campaign against the traitor, Katsu of Kumo." He paused as he looked over the group of ninja, many of whom had looks of mild agreement on their faces. Looking down to his feet, Haku again picked up his head to look at the gathered ninja. "I would ask for your help again!" A pause as he let his ninja watch him through veiled eyes. "I want revenge for my father, who was lost because of their betrayal. I want your help to avenge him, and in turn..." Another pause. "I will help you, get revenge for the loved one's you have lost." A murmur swept through the crowd. "I would help you." He said again as he began walking through the crowd, watching as they parted for him. "I admit, I have been selfish in my thoughts, merely thinking of myself and my revenge. But no more! Today, I shall fight for you, the people and ninja of Kiri who lost brothers, comrades, friends, sisters husbands and wives that fateful day nearly three months ago!" He paused again, allowing his eyes to sweep over the saddened faces of many of the ninja, no doubt they too having witnessed the misery that consumed Kiri the day the list of dead had been placed on the board. "I WILL FIGHT!" He suddenly yelled drawing their attention back to him. "For myself, for Zabuza, for Kiri, for each and every one of you!" Another pause. "Will you fight by my side, will you help me help you avenge the loved one's lost that day?"

A heavy silence fell over the crowd before...

"I SHALL FIGHT ALONG SIDE YOU MIZUKAGE-SAMA!' One young chuunin somewhere in the back of the crowd yelled causing shouts of agreement to sweep through the crowd. "LORD WE WILL FIGHT FOR YOU!"

"HAIL OUR FALLEN HEROES!"

As more and more yells, roars and cries of support spread through the crowd. Only two did not join in, merely watching from the side at a distance.

Kotaro's silent footsteps barely reached her ears as she watched the cheering soldiers from a distance. "Sakura-san, you know that, you need not get involved in this battle. It is not your fight."

"What do you propose Kotaro? That I just abandon him? I wont do that. So dont propose it."

The older man sighed and nodded. "Very well Sakura."

"What do you think our chances are?" She questioned as she looked back to the older man.

He said nothing, merely closed his eyes before he turned and walked away from the pink haired medic.

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Naruto's massive form silently soared through the night sky, his powerful wings propelling him through the air at an incredible rate of speed. After nearly seven hours of non stop travel he was beginning to catch sight of the battlefield ahead. It looked like the armies were just beginning to settle themselves in formation.

Ina held on tightly to whatever she could, while there was no doubt in her mind the urgency of this situation she couldn't help but enjoy the magnificent feel of flying. The wind blowing through her hair, the landscape bellow rushing past her at speeds some ninja could only dream of achieving. The sheer distance she could see from this high perch in the heavens.

Naruto's glowing ruby red eyes shifted to the form currently riding him, catching the almost peacefull expression on her face caused a small smile to form on his own features, though in this form it seemed more like he was baring his fangs. Still he could take her for one of these outings and enjoy her expressions some other time, he accented before he sped up, the gust of his wings picking up dirt in the earth far bellow them.

Suddenly his sharp senses felt a large chakra signature to his right. Swerving quickly, but carefully so as not to knock Ina off his back he did his best to avoid the incoming attack.

It proved fruitless however as a massive ball of lightning struck him in the side, with a roar of pain and anger the young demon plummeted to the earth. Ina being blown off her perch acted fast, taking out an arrow she attached some ninja wire to the back of it before she fired with her bow, embeding it in a nearby tree in order to stop her decent. Using the momentum to swing into a nearby tree branch.

A massive crash to her right tore her attention to Naruto as he fell to the forest floor, demolishing dozens of trees with his massive form as he plummeted to earth.

"NARUTO!" Her cry of worry was carried by the breeze as she rushed over to his fallen form. By the time she arrived he was already standing once again. The wound on his side already healing, leaving a bloody stain in its wake.

She saw his ruby red eyes shift to her before he gestured for her to continue. He then looked up at their attacker.

A massive golden eagle hovered angrily above them, its form covered in large metal plates and the single form of Ata-Kai stood atop its head.

Ina looked to Naruto again in momentary uncertainty before he growled, that same growl he always used to calm her down. Nodding silently she took off to the north east towards Kumo.

Meanwhile a silent figure slipped past the massive form of the black dragon and followed.

Naruto roared before he flapped his wings, lifting his form off the ground as he looked to the Tsuchikage standing above his Hawk summon.

Atakai sat down on the saddle of the creature, before he sealed his helmet visor and looked to the dark dragon before him. This was going to be a tough fight.

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Well here ya go. A build up to the next chap. I know I've cut a lot of corners towards the end of this fic and I'm sorry for that but inspiration for this fic has run dry and if I try to place in all the details I would normally put in I'm not sure if I could complete this fic as I am.

Anyway read and review please, hope you enjoyed it none the less. 


	64. The plunge

Well here I am again, nothing much to say really, except that I'm going to try to wrap this story up with three more chapters instead of the original 6 The reason for this is that I've seriously lost my inspiration for this fic. I promised myself and all of you that I would complete all my stories when I started them which is truly the only reason I have not quit on this story and started one of my other crossovers which I have been dying to do since October, maybe some other time, when I have no other stories on my mind to write I'll write up the proper ending for this story. For those of you unhappy with this outcome I am sorry but this is the final verdict unless I decide otherwise and no matter how much moaning and groaning you do I wont change my mind. I made two mistakes when I started this story the first was only planning this story half way through instead of all the way through when I started it, which then allowed the story to stand still and stagnate, my second mistake was starting more than two other stories while this one was still on going which over extended my attention to those others and thus allowed the fic to stagnate even more. I know I said this warning before but I feel I must repeat it for all your sakes. To those authors who get stuck on one of their stories, the answer to this is most certainly not starting a new fic because you will never regain that inspiration for the fic that you first had the best thing to do is sit it out and plow your way through the writers block or whatever you have. 

This was originally gonna be released on new years along with the other updates I got but I'm leaving tomorrow for my aunts house and she don't got Internet, so I'm posting these today. LS, The Void and A Twist of fate will hopefully be finished by the third when I get back. That is if I can take my Laptop with me.

Anyway Again I am sorry to whomever I may be disappointing with this. To the guy that helped me fill in the blanks for most of the ending for this story I'm sorry most of all to you for wasting your time like that this has been a difficult decision, but it is the best one to me. Here is your update.

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Ina rushed through the trees, moving as fast as she could towards the battle she could tell was just getting started. As she landed on another branch, the sound of lightning crackling and sailing through the air reached her ears. Acting fast she leaped up onto another branch as the one she had previously been standing on was blown to bits, becoming little more that slivers and shrapnel.

Looking to where the Jutsu had come from she found the silent form of her one time acquaintance and family friend Katsuie.

"Ahh lady Ina, so good to see you again." He spoke in that usual bored tone of his as he walked out into the light of the moon.

Ina's eyes narrowed in suspicion and anger as she notched an arrow in her bow. "What have you done Katsuie? Have you too betrayed us to Orochimaru?"

"Betrayed you to Orichimaru me?" He questioned with a mock hurt tone. "Why I'm hurt you would even consider such a thing my lady. Especially when I have been such a loyal friend of the family!" He suddenly took out another of his war fans before he threw it to her. Ina leaped up and away from the fan as it split into several dozen slivers of wood, each wrapped in an explosive tag, the blasts destroying the tree, as well as several others around it. "I'm afraid that with that kind of attitude I cant let you reach your brother...well...not in one piece anyway."

Ina's arrow crackled with lightning as she snarled. "Damn bastard!" She yelled as the arrow sailed through the air. Katsuie dodged the attack expertly before he rushed the girl.

Ina leapt up into the trees again. Firing three more arrows as she ascended, Katsuie weaved left and right dodging the arrows as they passed him by into the forest below. Drawing a kunai the Kumo jounin tried to slash at her neck. The bow wielding Kunoichi leaned back, watching as the sharp blade cut a few strands of her hair and lashed back with one of the bladed ends of her bow. Katsu, though in mid air was still able to contort his body enough to dodge the attack. Grabbing the collar of her shirt he reared his other arm back, the kunai in his hand flaring with lightning chakra. Ina caught his wrist before flaring her own chakra in response, molding it to take its own natural lightning element as she pushed it from her palm into his wrist.

The traitor gritted his teeth as he kicked her away, using her to leap up into another higher branch.

Ina flipped in mid air, taking out another arrow before she launched it at him. As it approached the weapon exploded, forming several dozen other needle like projectiles each of these connected by wires which quickly lit up with sparks of electricity. Katsuie cursed under his breath as he was forced to leap away to avoid the attack, which allowed Ina enough of a distraction to slip back into the tree's. The Kumo ninja cursed as he tried to find her, or at least hear her rustling through the leaves. He didn't however, and soon enough he needed to avoid several arrows which flew from the forest, every time he tried to follow their trajectory however, they would come in from a different angle. The only explanation he could come up with was either Bunshin's or Genjutsu.

His eyes widened as suddenly dozens of arrows flew out of the shadows and tree's all around him. Forming a quick Kawarimi with the nearest object he thought he was home free, but when the smoke cleared he found the tip of an arrow head centimeters from his face as Ina looked down on him.

"Too slow." she whispered before releasing the string.

Katsuie tried to pull back but due to how close he was he didn't get far, instead of drilling past his skull, the arrow went into his throat. Turning a relatively quick and painless death into a slow, gruesome one.

As the traitor choked and coughed on his own blood Ina watched him through cold, unsympathetic eyes. "There's a reason the Kawarimi is an E rank technique Katsuie. Most people believe its simply like that its because of the little chakra necessary for the technique, or the fact that it doesn't really require hand seals after only a few uses. The real reason its labeled as an E rank technique is because of its vulnerability. If your enemy is smart, and quick he can manipulate the Kawarimi to make you show up where he wants you to show up. When you target an object to replace yourself with , its like a homing beacon, allowing you and your chosen item to teleport into your location and vice versa But then what happens if someone, with that brief window between the technique's use and activation could switch your intended item's location to another of their choice you could show up anywhere in the immediate area, on top of a trap, off a ravine, under water. That's why its labeled as an E rank technique, because of its vulnerability. It usually has to be used in conjunction with other techniques in order to keep your enemy unaware you've made the switch, things like clones and Genjutsu."

Katsuie struggled to get to his feet, gripping the arrow in his throat with more force as he struggled for air.

Ina's eyes narrowed in anger as she watched him. "Tell me why." She demanded. "Katsu trusted you. You were one of his best friends. Why would you betray us like this? What the hell did Orochimaru possibly offer you?"

Katsuie choked as he struggled to laugh despite his injury. "What does it matter now my lady? Would it offer you comfort, solace, or a sense of peace knowing that I did this for reasons other than simply money and power? Well sorry to disappoint you then my lady." He said, delivering the title with a mocking tone."

The kunoichi's eyes narrowed in anger before grabbed hold of the arrow in his throat and savagely yanked it out, tearing out chunks of flesh, as the blades scraped past the bone. "I've come too far to let an idiot like you stop me."

"You think this is over? You're a fool. I knew that you two would be strong, still I underestimated your growth while you were in Konoha. I may die here, but the messages have already been sent, soon enough my contacts will arrive, and neither, you or your little boyfriend will be able to stop them."

Katsuie's hands flew up to his throat, in a futile attempted to stem the blood flow, even so as he struggled to breathe, choking on his own blood a simple taunting smile remained firmly on his lips.

Ina watched as he breathed his last, his smile firmly engraved on his now dead features, his eyes open wide with sick glee.

Looking back to her previous direction she

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A roar tore through the night sky as a massive black dragon tore into the throat of a golden Hawk, blood fell from the massive beast's wound down to the ground below like rain, the coppery metallic taste stinging his tongue and nose as the scent was near overpowering. Ata-Kai sheathed his mace-hook like weapon and leaped off his fallen summon into a free fall down to the ground bellow. Cutting his finger he swiped it onto some seals across the chest piece of his armor before he formed several fast one handed seals. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" He yelled before a large cloud of smoke enveloped him. Out of the smoke another Hawk, this one silver in color flew out. It turned in mid air, its form rising above Naruto as the Darkness user threw his previous target down to the forest below, before it vanished in a cloud of smoke. Naruto raised his head as the silver bird dived at him, its talons gleaming as it screeched.

Naruto moved as best he could to prepare himself for the impact, before he could however a chain suddenly wrapped around his elongated throat, chakra enhanced he noted as he tried to tear the metal off of himself. His sharp eyes caught sight of the numerous seals engraved onto the metal links, obviously this weapon was one that had been made and taken very carefully and seriously.

Following the chain he found it was Ata-Kai's mace like weapon, apparently, it had an extendable, and retractable chain attachment.

Suddenly, lightning formed on the chain, sending waves of pain through his boddy as it burned the armor like scales right off, his skin smoked and hissed where the lightning met with it.

Distracted by the pain, He was unable to put up a proper defense as the hawks talons slashed down his chest and stomach, fighting through the pain he lashed out with his claws slashing at the birds chest, tearing it open with sheer brute force, chunks of flesh were hurled through the air and blood poured from the wound of the massive bird as it screeched in pain. Ata-Kai leaped off of his summon, retracting his chain blade as he did so. Landing on Naruto's massive shoulder The shape shifting blond roared as it snapped at the older ninja with his jaws. The powerful muscles bringing the teeth down with incredible force as they snapped together like vices. The older man barely managed to get enough leverage in order to leap away from his position and gain a new one as his one hand grabbed onto the juncture where the wing bone met the main body. Naruto tried again to swipe him off with his claws. Only for the man to pull himself up onto the boy's back. Naruto roared in anger before he was forced to defend himself from the silver Hawk, as it pecked and swiped at him with his talons.

Ata-Kai held on, using the armor like scales as grappling points. Using chakra to stick to the surface, he unsheathed his weapon again. A sharp, durable looking, spike, suddenly emerged from the but end which he then plunged deep into Naruto's back, possibly in the spine. There was a flare of chakra and the mace like weapon could again be seen as it crackled with electricity.

Blinding pain shot through Naruto's entire form, his vision blurring as a strangled roar escaped his throat. The Hawk ceasing an opportunity lunged and with a vicious peck tore out a chunk from his throat. Chocking on his own blood the young Jinchuriki barely noticed as the pain in his back ceased and Ata-Kai leaped away. The silver Hawk dived beneath the blond , heading for his master, Naruto, despite the pain and blurred vision followed his form as best he could with his eyes.

The summoned beast flipped so its back was facing the ground and caught its summoner mid fall with its talons. Throwing the man back up into the air he flipped again, allowing Ata-Kai to fall back on the saddle present on the beasts back.

Ata-Kai looked back at the crippled form of Naruto, only for his eyes to widen in horror as he watched the grave wound that his summon inflicted seal back up with a hiss almost instantly.

'What on earth is this? I've never heard of any creature that can heal this fast, and dragons have not existed within the world of men for over a millennia. Whatever this Uzumaki boy is, he is dangerous, and my summon is weakening due to the injury he inflicted onto it earlier. Soon, when it grew weak enough it would disperse and he would have to summon another, he didn't have the chakra to continually summon these high level mounts. If this kept up the dragon would outlast him by simply wounding his summons once and waiting for the creature to disperse, forcing him to summon again.

Naruto's low dangerous growl of anger was the only warning the older man received before a massive flap of his wings rocketed him through the air heading straight for him. Ata-Kai watched in morbid fascination as time seemed to slow as the black dragon came in from behind them, Stomping down on his summon beasts back with its hind legs, its claws tearing through flesh, bone and muscle with ease. The Summon birds cry of pain barely registered in his mind as he watched the dragon rear its claw back in preparation to swipe at him. Rolling to the side, but not enough to completely dodge the blow, the Tsuchikage was thrown off his flying steed, the claws digging into his right side creating a single large gash along the left side of his waist.

Naruto came back with a second blow delivered with his other claw, snapping the hawk summon's neck with the sheer force of it before he breathed purple, black flames onto it. With the creature nearly killed instantly by the first attack it had no time to return to the summoned realm, and so fell to the forest floor, the extreme heat of the strange flames reducing it to ash and bone dust in just a few short seconds.

Ata-Kai wiped his blood over the seals, forming his hand seals he gritted his teeth as he summoned up as much chakra as he could, this would be his most powerful summon, it was time to end this.

Naruto hovered over the smoke cloud, waiting for the emergence of Ata-Kai and his new summon. This was not a fight he was used to, he had never trained to dog fight, Air to ground maybe, but never air on air. He was at a disadvantage, but sheer stubbornness and will was slowly working out the kinks in this skill. And while Ata-Kai had the advantage of "two on one" so to speak, he still had the advantage of healing and chakra. He would win this fight.

However, as three forms suddenly streaked out of the smoke cloud towards him, the demon vessel nimbly dodged all three, following them with his eyes he found a black, a red, and white hawk summon's hovering above him, Ata-Kai saddled onto the red, breathing heavily, though he couldn't tell due to the metal helmet on his head.

"Ahh, Kai. I see this is the one that wounded Kitaku...where is Mokurei?" The red questioned as Ata-Kai motioned to the ashes of burnt trees and scarcely remaining bones decorating the forest floor. "I see." The red sighed as the black one's feathers seemed to bristle. "He will pay for harming our brethren." It spoke in anger, its wings flapping a bit more forceful than necessary.

"Peace brother." The white advised. "Do not rush recklessly, this is not an opponent to be taken lightly." The black simply snorted.

Naruto grinned, four on one...that made it an even fight.

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Meanwhile a few miles north east the battle had taken a turn for the worse, both sides of the conflict were evenly matched, the drive for revenge on one side, the need to protect their home on the other.

Haku, using one of his daggers was carving a bloody swathe through the battlefield. anger bubbling within his eyes as he marched on through, searching for his intended target.

This battle was a savage one, the blood blanketed the ground to such a degree, it felt as if they were walking through mud, fire and ash suffocated them as they fought on. Invading their throat and lungs as the cries of dead, near dead and struggling men roared loudly in their ears.

But Haku paid no mind to it as his daggers cleaved, sliced and tore flesh from bone, glittering in the darkness like diamonds as the wounds he inflicted froze icily, creating frostbite to add to his victims pain.

His form was nothing but a blur as he moved, giving only a brief glimpse as he paused to deliver his attack, his glowing serpentine eyes leaving a faint trail of after images as he felled one opponent after another.

Suddenly as he struck down one more ninja a hand caught his throat and flung him off to the side. Recovering and rolling back onto his feet, his eyes fell onto the angry form of the Raikage. "Katsu! I see you decided to show your face coward."

"I have nothing to say to you, Haku. Its pointless already, you've proven to everyone that you are unable to see reason, clouded by your rage as you are."

"Then let us end this." The Ice user spoke before the earth began trembling beneath their feet. Katsu looked around, waiting for the next attack when a massive wall of Ice formed around the two of them and sealed itself off at the top, It expanded outwards, giving it a larger circumference as it formed a solid Ice dome, Multiple Haku's appearing all around him within the ice dome.

Katsu took a deep calming breath, he knew the power of Haku's bloodline, but he also knew its weakness, it took up an extraordinary amount of chakra. If he could outlast him, then he had a chance, it all depended on his own alertness, speed and luck. "After today Haku...only one of us will walk away from here."

"That's fine by me!" The Mizukage spoke from his Ice dome before he drew three Senbon.

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"LOOK OUT!" Was the cry of one Oto ninja before another rang out through the night air. "RASENGAN!"

In a great explosion the wall of the city shook and crumbled, debris flying everywhere, massive stones crashing onto the buildings within the city and crushing those who were unlucky enough to have been beneath them as they landed.

As the dust settled it revealed Naruto, or at least the person currently impersonating him, and doing a spectacular job at it at that. Dozens of Konoha ninja poured through the walls of the city, kunai and Jutsu sailing through the air as Oto ninja rushed to try and stop their entry.

Arashi looked around quickly for the commander, when you fight an army, you strike at the head, it demoralizes and disorganized the troops, making them easy pickings. He was a bit out of practice but he doubted he'd have any trouble here, what he really had to watch out for was the ugly face of Orochimaru. If he was here well...Arashi wasn't gonna pass up a chance at kicking his pedophilic ass.

As his eyes scanned over the men he found the commander, identifiable by a band around his arm which indicated his rank as a captain, as well as the fact that he was barking out orders like there was no tomorrow.

"Matsuko I want you and you're men to-urk." The Oto captains voice was cut off as a kunai pierced his throat before he could get another word out. The men around him turned in confusion seeing how he had just stopped and were only greeted by the grinning form of Arashi/Naruto. "Hello." He greeted with a small wave before another Rasengan formed in the had he had waved with. The ninja moved to attack when the ball of chakra was slammed down into the ground. A great explosion suddenly tore through the street, shaking the foundations of nearby building causing them to crumble beneath their own weight.

As the dust settled it revealed Arashi/Naruto standing over the rubble of the collapsed buildings.

Looking around he watched as his Konoha ninja flood the streets and rooftops of the city. "Allright then, now we need to find that damn sna-"

"Gogyou Fuin!" A voice suddenly cried out before an arm shot out from the floor beneath him slamming five fingers into his stomach, eliciting a gasp of shock and pain from the revived Kage. Looking down he saw the grinning visage of Orochimaru appear from the ground like some sick, disgusting, nasty, freaky plant thing. "Rokkingu Fuin. (Locking seal)" the sannin yelled before slamming another hand onto the newly placed seal sending Arashi/Naruto crashing onto his back as he fully emerged from the ground.

"Naruto-kun...my my my, I did not expect to see you here. It appears as though those reports of you heading to Kumo were false. Still, I am prepared to face you this time, your transformation and most of your techniques that require demonic chakra are now useless, the second seal I placed on you will make it impossible to remove the seal I've placed on you. You're control is shot to hell now."

Arashi/Naruto chuckled for a moment before he stood up, dusting off his clothing as he did. "Well, snake, looks like you've got me at a disadvantage..."

Orochimaru's smile fell slightly as the boy spoke, he was too confident for his liking.

"Or at least you would..." The blond young ninja continued grinning stupidly. "That is if I didn't have...this!" He exclaimed as he took out a single, three pronged kunai as began twirling it in his finger.

Orochimaru's amber eyes widened in surprise and horror. "Impossible, there is no way you could ever know that Jutsu! It died with him."

Arashi's smirk only widened. "Yes...it did." He said before throwing the kunai down at his feet.

The bright yellow flash was the only warning Orochimaru had in order to swerve to the left a kunai slicing off a few strands of his hair.

Drawing the Kusanagi the snake sannin lashed back wildly, momentarily loosing his normally cool head, a momentary panic setting in as he beheld the legendary Jutsu once again.

Another flash before a knee connected solidly with his face then another sweeped his legs out from under him. Catching himself in time the snake sannin flipped to his feet before using shunshin to reappear up on a nearby rooftop. Before the small wisp of smoke dissipated a kunai slashed his upper right arm, digging deeply until it scraped against the bone. Eliciting a cry of pain from the snake, still he was not a sannin for nothing, grabbing onto his attackers wrist with his uninjured arm and lashed out again with the Kusanagi in his injured arm. Arashi leaned away tin time to avoid the blade and grabbed the snakes wrist as he tried to attack again. Orochimaru seethed as he glared with all the hatred and anger he could muster into Arashi/Naruto's eyes, who, in response only smirked wolfishly.

"How on earth are you still so strong, the Gogyou Fuin should have destroyed your control to the point of it being near crippling. You shouldn't even be able to accomplish even the most basic of academy jutsu, let alone the Hiraishin."

"Oh Orochimaru." Naruto/Arashi smirked, "You just don't know me at all do you?" He questioned with a smug smirk as he allowed the Henge to dispel for a mere moment. Letting Orochimaru get a glimpse of his true face and for that one instant, you could see the terror grip Orochimaru, his blood turning into ice as he stared into the eyes of the Yondaime Hokage, the eyes of a Hero, the eyes of the most powerful ninja the world had ever known, the eyes of his death bringer.

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Here ya go hope ya like it, more fights in the next chapter, read and review please.


	65. Encablosa Awakened

Here's what will be the final chap of brothers, I've decided. I really have no inspiration left and what little I've managed to scrounge up was by sheer stubbornness and willpower to keep my word over never outright quitting a fic. I truly hate to cut so many corners and in such a blatant way but I really just cant bring myself to write anymore and I know that if I wait any longer I'll never finish. I managed to pull up some mild inspiration for this fic by playing Lair for the PS3 in my friend▓s house. If I wait, it'll be lost in the wind and I'll never make it.

To Sandra sue and the aptly named finish this story soon: I truly, truly am sorry about this, really. But I just don't have it in me to write it anymore. This isn▓t something that just came up, for the past seven, maybe ten chaps I've been complaining about my lack of inspiration for this fic. I'm sorry if this was your favorite out of my stories but I really just can▓t. The both of you however, if you're willing can write it up and finish it. I have the rest planned out, just not the will or perseverance to get it down in writing. If you want I can also simply tell you what the ending is, just leave an address to reply to your reviews with and I'll tell you. Let▓s not make this any worse than what it has to be, I've busted my head over this decision for a long time and I'm not changing.

So, though it▓s not the best ending, by far. I hope you can enjoy it none the less.

Doran the Beasty, I'm sorry but you didn't leave any place to respond to so I couldn't give you a heads up.

Here's the last chap of The Strength of Brothers.

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Naruto's wings flapped with force, releasing great gusts of wind onto the ground bellow, the tree's cracking and groaning against the constant pace of wind gusts. The Jinchuriki glared at the three hawks that hovered slightly above and in front of him. Roaring once before he gave another flap of his wings, rushing the three creatures.

Ata-Kai signaled his summons, and the three great beasts dived, releasing a screech from their powerful throats.

Naruto snarled, releasing a torrent of black flames towards the creatures of similar size, only for each of them to swerve in mid air, avoiding the blast entirely before the black one sped up in his dive, passing by the Jinchuriki, there was a loud BANG and Naruto suddenly felt as if he had been hit in the side by a tree, knocking him back as he spun wildly in the air, not able to regain his bearings before the other two summoned animals tore into him with their talons, his chest and back bleeding freely, dark rivulets of blood flowing down his chest and back, snarling as he lashed out with his spiked tail barely managing to catch one by his tail feathers. Roaring in defiance he flapped his wings again, rising higher and higher until he towered over them, his blackened form blotting out the silver of the moon, dark scales glinting like obsidian as he growled down at the three creatures, releasing a roar that seemed to split the heavens, red eyes glowing fiercely before he rushed the creatures again.

Meeting his charge with their own, two of the hawks circled around either side of him, Ata-Kai's red mount charging him headlong.

With a loud crash of meat and bone they smashed into each other. Kai grunted, his form whipping back and forth from the impact, though remaining firmly on his saddle. His mace-like weapon was nearly thrown from his grip, but he kept it firm, ignoring the dizzying motions as he held himself firmly on his mount.

Silver claws and blood stained teeth flashed as Naruto tried to tear the beast to shreds, the hawk, though more experienced in dog fighting, with the extra leverage and range of attacks granted by two extra extensions Naruto soon managed to overpower the beast, sinking his claws into his wing bones, eliciting a screech of pain from the red feathered summon, and another as his hind legs dug into its stomach. The Jinchuriki's head reared back, growls vibrating through his chest before he blew a stream of flames right into the red creatures face.

Luckily for it, the beast manage to swerve his head to the side at the last minute , escaping the dark flames with minimal burns running along the side of its face, that did not last long however, as Naruto, released his grip on the creatures wings and with two fast and powerful swipes slashed at both sides of its face, chunks of flesh and blood splattered over Nruto's ruby red eyes as he glared at the beast that screeched and slashed at his chest and stomach with his talons as he frantically flapped its wings to get away.

Naruto would have continued his assault, had it not been for the lone Tsuchikage, surprising him as he leapt off his mount, his hook chain extending and wrapping around the wrist of his claw. Naruto snarled and yanked the man towards him, ready to feel his bones crunching and snapping between his teeth, but the man took the movement in stride, managing to shift his trajectory, he passed right by the Jinchuriki's muzzle as his teeth snapped shut, the chain wrapping him all the way around his dragon opponent, allowing him to land on his back, the man stabbed his weapon into the crook of Naruto's shoulder and neck. Naruto roared, moving to swipe at him with his claw, only for the man to leap off and be caught by his black hawk as the white one crashed into Naruto from behind, pecking and clawing.

The Jinchuriki released another roar, before he swiped the beast with his tails, tearing off a large chunk of the bird▓s leg, forcing him to pull away as the dragon rounded fully onto it and released another breath of flames.

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H-How did you? You▓re supposed to be┘.dead,■ The Snake Sannin questioned in a slightly shaken tone. ⌠Arashi■

His eyes staring in morbid wonder and benign fascination at the resurrected form of the Yondaime of Konoha the Snake couldn▓t help but let a word surface in his fragmented thoughts. A word long buried in the recess of his mind. That should have stayed buried. A simple word that answered everything yet answered nothing a word that couldn▓t quite explain this┘simple paradox.

The distinction echoed in his thoughts like an unwanted melody of a haunting song that allured his senses, tightened the clenching of his chest, and threw him in a frigid coldness. Memories flashed across his mind. Until, it reached the point of it ricocheting continuously in an irritating repetition of his sordid life. Denying the things he truly wanted of this world. Yet stopped and slithered away from his grasp like a cruel reminder of the very definition of his being. A Snake.

In the days of his era were he▓d undergone terrible times. A family that▓d perished in the aftermaths of the war a boy becoming just another addition of the many orphans growing without the tender touch of a mother, to the companionship of a father and son. A boy▓s life painted with bloody masses, eclipsed sunlight, and a falling darkness with war looming over the horizon.

Once a child full of wonder, intrigued by the way of life and content with the life he had. Yet changed by the loss of his parents changing his dreams to obtain and transcend to the life he was left with. Hokage became his dream; Immortality came hand in hand along with it. But dreams shattered when the position fell on the lap of this man that was standing before him.

His dream changed becoming perverse in its quest to achieve immortality falling off its original design by its maker. With a new mindset in place that directed him to a new destiny pointing in a new path that would lead him in a search for answers through other means.

The twisted inhibition to obtain the unthinkable, and escape the clutches of death, time and time again. A death▓s frigid touch his parents had succumbed to. He fell in madness. His mind clouded with goals that were once considered unattainable he had achieved and tasted the forbidden fruit. Obtaining an unimaginable wonder that resulted in the defiance of the repetitive cycle of mankind; such was his need and will to live forever.

A dream to escape the inevitability of the end.

Yet, this man that gripped his wrists changed something he didn't understand until now. A man that had everything the Sannin had once coveted long ago. The epitome of a life he once longed in having.

The man▓s mere presence signified something in his soul, no; his whole being. Something he hadn▓t felt in a very long time. He came to the realization then┘.Death. It was knocking on his doorstep. A looming shadow that cast it▓s cape around them. It watched in the midst of the fray.

He┘..Feared it┘..

He shook his head breaking himself of the self trance and gathered his wit from his incoherent thoughts. He▓d lost mobility of his arms and legs from responding to proper coordination. The body of the snake rendered itself for a moment to an un welcoming numbness that spread like fire throughout his whole being. The blistering pain, from his injured wrist, and bloody gutted biceps being a thing forgotten in the past at the expense of the phenomenon of the man standing before him. A sliver of fear crossed his visage.

The blond haired shinobi smirked. The Yondaime gripped the Sannin▓s hand tighter with such strength he could practically feel the bones weakening in his hold. Red streaked rubies trickling and dripping on his hands. Yet, the Snake remained unmoving his slitted eyes unfocused and almost deranged. ⌠Shocking isn▓t it,■ The Snake Sannin was snapped out of his trance beginning to refocus his eyes on the blond shinobi. Fixing him with a gaze with such intensity the smoldering inferno almost stilled the blood of the legend.

But unfazed the young man smirked in response to his silent challenge and replied with a deadly answer, ⌠That the shinigami still waits.■

The Snake Sannin▓s gaze widened.

⌠You▓re a Soul he has yet to collect, and he's not happy with that.■

The Yondaime continued twisting the Shinobi▓s wrists his ominous tone reflecting his hate for the man in front of him through his actions. The Snake loosened his hold on the Kunai blade. Letting the metal fall from his grasp and impact with such conviction it reverberated around the rooftops they stood upon.

Laughter erupted from the depths of the Sannin▓s soul. A form of release that scaled the edge of insanity.

⌠Not today boy,■ his stunned features reverting back to the Sadistic grin Orochimaru was known for. A slithery tongue traced his lips. ⌠I will not be the one that will satisfy Death▓s hunger. You will fill in for the void I am meant to take.■

The Yondaime eyes widened at the beckoning Blade.

Before the blade came within striking distance however a massive explosion nearby nearly knocked both warriors off their feet, sending dust and fire searing across the battlefield, licking their skin and clouding their vision as they raised their arms to protect their eyes from it.

A new wave of battle cries reached their ears, and as the dust settled it revealed ragged and dirty looking men and women as they rushed out of the now burning building, the voices of a few carrying over the rest of the mob. "Death to Oto!" and "Freedom!" being two of these.

Arashi could hear Orochimaru curse under his breath, growling with malice as he watched the tide of men and women tear into the surprised and already under assault Oto ninja in a wild frenzy. Arashi saw something else leap out of the wood work as well. His old student Kakashi, who seemed to be in finer shape than many of the others, along with a young blond girl wearing a Kumo forehead protector.

Then he was brutally brought back to the battle at hand as Orochimaru breathed out a stream of fire, only for the Yondaime to raise his hand and envelop the stream of fire in a bubble of chakra. Quickly using up the oxygen within, the flames died down, allowing the Yondaime to release his technique and fluidly block up the next strike of the Kusanagi with one of his signature kunai.

"You cannot afford to be distracted here Yondaime!" The snake hissed before he began his attack anew.

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Kakashi flew through his handseals as he released a quick breath of flames which incinerated his opponent, the mans screams quickly dying down as he rolled on the ground several times before he laid still, the smell of burning flesh quickly permeating the air. He then looked to Yugito, as she dispatched her own opponent with a quick series of slices to the various muscle tendons with her kunai. He nodded to her then. "Good, we need to go."

"What do you mean?" She questioned. Catching his own questioning look she elaborated. "Incase you forgot Hatake, Konoha and Kumo are still enemies, our truce was just that, a truce. A temporary compromise in order to get out of the situation we found ourselves in.

Kakashi turned then to face her fully. "You know what Orochimaru was doing down there, you know that he doesn't care about either side. With this information Kumo's hostilities against Konoha will end."

"They have not ended yet, and thus...mine cant either, even for you." She finished stepping away from him.

Kakashi was about to say more when another voice cut in.

"Oh I don't know about that, you two seemed to have worked fairly well together."

Kakashi and Yugito's eyes both snapped over to that of Zetsu, as the Akatsuki member morphed into existence from the ground up. His cloak, dotted with red clouds covered him from the neck down, leaving only his head and the venus fly trap part of his body exposed.

Kakashi's eyes narrowed. "Zetsu." He growled revealing his spinning Sharingan eye. "You're Akatsuki's main spy. You assume to fight us."

"No." Zetsu said simply with a shrug. "Just to distract you."

"Distrac-ugh."

Yugito was firmly cut off as a senbon pierced the back of her neck. She pulled it out, staring at it dimly for a moment as her eyes took on a glazed look. The cat like irisis raising themselves to find Kakashi's multi-colored ones, before her entire world went dark and unconsiousness claimed her.

"Yugito!" Kakashi cried before he was grabbed by the scruff of his shirt and bodilly thrown down the road. Flipping in mid air he landed on his feet in time to see the blue skinned Kisame haul the Kumo Kunoichi over his shoulder.

"Heh, dont wory Coppy nin, we'll take good care of this one. While he-" He said gesturing towards Sasori. "Will take good care of you." He then turned to Zetsu. "Come on Zetsu, lets get this girl back before Deidara gets the Uzumaki kid back to headquarters."

At that Kakash's eyes widened. 'Naruto? They captured Naruto?'

Sasori said nothing before he slowly walked forward. Kakashi's eyes shifting from Kisame, to Yugito, and back to Sasori. Before he could say or do anything more Kisame and Zetsu vanished in wisps of redish smoke, leaving the coppy ninja with his puppet wielding opponent.

"Hatake Kakashi." Sasori's voice creaked into his ears, sending the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end. "You need not die here Hatake...the Kumo's Jinchuriki is your enemy, she said so herself."

Kakashi smirked. "Yea well...I have this really old saying ya know, told to me by someone I respected...he certainly wouldnt be too hapy with my leaving her, especially with you."

Sasori closed his eyes, before opening them again. "So be it."

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Ina broke through the tree line; the battle cries of the ninja had long ago reached her ears, the orange glow from the fires having pierced the veil of darkness for several hundred yards ago. But no matter how long ago she had known what she was approaching the sight would forever be engrained into her memory.

Hundreds of ninja, lay dead or dying, blood staining the grass along the fields of Yi Ling as screams, haunting, ghastly screams reached her ears. A massive dome of Ice lay in the center of this battlefield, the chill it caused in the wind, a stark contrast from the roaring fires spread throughout the battlefield.

She knew, immediately what her target was, what Haku's target was, and as the only person capable of creating that Ice dome she knew that he had found his target, she only hoped that she could stop them both before it was too late.

The muscles in her legs coiling back, she gave a great leap, entering the chaotic battlefield, cutting down any who crossed her path. Though she tried to use mainly non lethal blows, she did not have time to truly be so precise, lest she exhaust herself, or worse, run out of time.

Her senses caught the presence of another, and not hesitating for a single moment she leapt away, just as a massive crash and thundering roar tore through the field, a massive cloud of dust, dirt and rock thrown up into the air from the point of the impact. Managing to place some distance between herself and it, Ina landed with another arrow notched in her bowstring, waiting for the dust to settle, revealing the pink haired liaison between Konoha and Kiri. Her green eyes narrowed in anger. "Ina." She growled dangerously. "Were you in on this? From the very start?"

The raven haired girls eyes widened in alarm. Sakura was one of her friends, and she knew very well of her monstrous strength. If she didn▓t believe her, then this would certainly be problematic.

"Sakura...wait a moment. I swear this isn▓t what it looks like."

"Then what is it Ina? How could you possibly explain that it just so happens you request to head back to Kumo for a period of a few months when they decide to attack us?" The Pinkette growled, green chakra shrouding her hands. "Admit it. You've been lying to us since this whole thing started! I can only imagine the pain Naruto must have felt because of this."

"You've got it all wrong!" The bow princess pleaded, tightening her grip on her arrow.

"Enough." Sakura growled as she took up her stance, ignoring Ina's look of sadness as she took aim with her bow.

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Meanwhile, within the dome, Katsu continued to dodge and block many of the senbon, kunai and Shuriken that were being thrown at him from nearly all directions simultaneously. But he was not a Kage for nothing, forming his hand seals, he was able to form a 'sheet' of condensed static electricity around him, which was used to detect, slow down and in some cases, altogether stop most of the projectiles.

Of course, he sported his own nicks and cuts; these would have killed any normal ninja by now due to the poisons laced in the weapons. But Katsu had done his research before he arrived. Most poisons, used various chemical complexes, which, when mixed together, or when they reached a certain part of the body, would react to the chemicals present, be it the liver, the kidneys, or even the acid in the stomach. Static electricity however can, in most cases diffuse the chemical complexes, breaking them down and turning them into harmless separate chemicals and molecules that at most would give him a bad stomach later. This was only a theory, but it was a theory Katsu was willing to test first hand in this fight. He couldn▓t exactly carry around with anti venom in his pouch and just use it, especially considering all the different venoms in Haku's arsenal.

The leader of Kumo leapt back, avoiding a crash as a spike, made entirely of ice shot down from the ceiling of the enclosed Ice dome.

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Ina breathed heavily as she held her bow, an arrow notched loosely in it as she stared down at Sakura from a small hill formed by a previous earth Jutsu, she was covered in dirt and grime, a few minor scratches and a small gash on her forehead, but was still relatively unharmed. The same could be said for Sakura, seeing as how she had managed to dodge or block most of Ina's attacks with relative ease. While Ina truly did not wish to harm Sakura, her attacks were becoming more and more aggressive, more desperate, as flashes of light and muffled, rumbling sounds continued to come from within the ice dome.

A roar suddenly tore through the battlefield, bringing everyone to a sudden halt as two forms suddenly came into view from the black clouds that blotted out the night sky. Ina and Sakura paused in their fight as they too glanced skywards, Ina's eyes taking on a look of fear as she noticed it was unmistakably, Naruto, falling down to earth rapidly, the neck of a hawk caught between the vice like grip of his jaws. Blood seemingly hovered in the air as the two beasts descended faster than it. Ata-Kai, who's other two summonses, had already been dispelled could only watch the fast approaching earth with a great deal of...unease.

Never before had his summons been crippled to such a level, and even though they had weakened their opponent considerably, the fact that it was still breathing was amazing to the man. But still, even years ago against the legendary Professor▓s ape summons, his three main summonses had been able to endure, drawing the fight into a stalemate. But against this lone beast they had, all three of them been defeated.

The Tsuchikage gave a silent plea for forgiveness from his old partner before he leapt away, summoning one of the smaller beasts with which he could return to earth, leaving Naruto, and the hawk held in his jaws to fall.

Naruto, with the final vestiges of his strength, snapped the hawk summons throat, watching it vanish in a cloud of gray smoke. His blood red eyes blearily took in the scene fast approaching him, finding the Ice dome, his mind slowly processing the information. Weakly, he adjusted his wings, turning his trajectory towards it. While he understood his brother, he also know, that he had to stop him before he did something that would forever destroy any hopes of peace between the countries that could be achieved.

Ina, watched, with eyes full of worry as Naruto continued to fall, his form suddenly turning, and her eyes widened as she realized just where he was going to land. "NARUTO!" She yelled, her voice drowned out by the battle around her. But sakura heard her.

The pinkets eyes traveled to Ina's worry, terror filled eyes as she watched the dragon descend, but was confused. She had never been witness to Naruto's transformations so she truly had no idea what Ina was talking about. However, as she noticed just where the falling behemoth was headed her own eyes filled with worry. "HAKU!" She called before rushing to the ice dome. While she wasn▓t sure just what she hopped to accomplish once she got there, it didn▓t matter to her though. She just had to get there.

Ina, seeing her opponent heading towards the ice dome, released the tension in her bow string before she followed.

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The deceptive Snake Sannin grinned maliciously. The Yondaime obviously unaware of the oncoming test of death he was about to face. His cerulean eyes widened at the action that the Sannin took.

Orochimaru surprised the Yondaime by opening his mouth wide abruptly stopping the Yondaime in his tracks. The Blond Ninja▓s question caught in the back of his mind, watching the rapid movements of the Snake catching him unaware when the caverns of his lips came forth the infamous Kusanagi blade.

The unbreakable metal unleashed itself at the Blond Shinobi not allowing ample time to evade. Fear flickered in the man▓s eyes. The Yondaime turned his face along with his body sideways letting the blade pass across his shoulder blades. The Blond shinobi gritted his teeth biting down the cry that wantonly wanted to escape from his lips.

The Katana hit rooftop yet even still it continued further placing the Yondaime in the Snake▓s hands.

The blade pressed forward starting its deadly incision watching it cut from his shoulders and begin its trek downwards. Like a knife on a loaf of bread. Blood soaked on his battle attire. Large amounts of it seeped in the cloths dripping on the tiles, letting red rubies fall on the shinobi at war below.

His gaze wavered. Body moving slowly. He woke with an irritated sneer on his face.

Pushing himself from Orochimaru Arashi removed the blade by using a backwards flip allowing the blade to come apart from the gruesome wound on his shoulder. Bracing his hands on the tiles he used the momentum to catapult the lower parts of his body to kick the Sannin under the chin sending the beast flying a good meters away in a loud thudded impact.

The blade streaked across the roof tops cutting the tiles while at the same time watching the debris fall from the building dust and condensed air overcoming them. The bitten tongue of the Snake lay next to the weapon of the Yondaime▓s own creation.

Arashi gripped his shoulder feeling the gaping wound that cut his body like if it was simply butter. He shuddered thinking only moments ago it could have ended his life within a few seconds from the course the blade took.

Watching the unmoving form of Orchimaru, he stepped warily forward. The Snake Sannin had his face hidden behind his body. Arashi with weary eyes kept the Sannin in his peripheral vision. He reached down and grasped the weapon that initiated his most potent technique in his arsenal.

The Yondaime was caught by surprise when he heard a rattling crash from behind him. He dodged narrowly missing his head by a hair from the deadly blade that came forth of the Sannin▓s mouth. While in motion he connected his fingers in a seal enabling him create great number of Kage Bunshin to cover his tracks.

Yondaime hidden in the masses of his clones waited idly, his left arm grasping the wrist of his right one watching the cluster of chakra gather in his palm growing with immense pressure collecting and condensing swallowing small debris in its wake. He waited for the spiral in his palm to complete.

Yet, he was pressured when Orochimaru retracted the blade in his mouth and opened his mouth once again allowing it come forth legion of snakes issuing in large numbers. That filled the large expanse of the roof tops that was chosen for a battleground of their fight.

The Kage bunshin opened their satchel and threw a set of Kunai blades in different parts of the area. The Snakes consumed them like a plague. One by one shadow clones fell.

Arashi gritted his teeth. He brought his other arm up and created a seal for another single Bunshin to manifest itself in front of him. The Yondaime locked gazes with the form and the Bunshin nodded its consent at the turn of events. The Shadow quickly placed his right hand over the sphere and turning it abruptly Arashi was able to pass the Rasengan to his Doppelganger.

Arashi succeeded with the transfer, yet, his calculative gaze assessed the situation he was given. He looked under him and saw the split crevice of the roof. With no moment to spare he fell through the cracks of the roof and fell towards the floor that awaited him.

The Shadow clone meanwhile rose himself and stared at the fray of the Snakes coming his way with a mighty roar he sent forth his palm catching the mass in all. The roof sheared clear off along with a few floors with it. The destruction of the spiral was devastating.

Yet before the Shadow disappeared he witnessed from the mouth of the elongated neck of the Snake Sannin spew forth another life form. The Snake had shedded its skin. In a puff of smoke he disappeared. Arashi had gained the knowledge and was aware of it.

The Snake Sannin fell heavily on a floor that wasn▓t taken by the massive Rasengan meaning the two levels along with the roof. The impact was enough to leave him in a daze. Body aching and protesting from the sudden movements he coughed with raspy breath▓s he regained his bearings. Blood issued from his lips.

The amount recovery was short when he finally found a sense of normalcy within himself to be aware of his surroundings. Yet when he surveyed the area he was met with a large amount Seals all around him. The Slitted Eyes widening when the seals began to burn.

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Meanwhile within the dome Haku and Katsu were on their last legs. While Haku's Ice dome was nearly ten times more effective than his mirrors, it took up nearly twice as much chakra. In all realities, had Katsu had any other elemental affinity besides lightning, even earth, Haku would have defeated him long ago.

In retrospect however, with the techniques Katsu had been forced to use to destroy the poisons and slow down the weapons, he too was quite exhausted. It would all come down to a battle of attrition, whoever managed to last longer would be the winner. The Ice dome while present was melting, and occasional sparks could be seen coming from Katsu's static field as the constant flow of chakra faltered for a moment or two.

Before the two could continue their attacks on each other, a great, black mass suddenly crashed through the dome, chunks of ice and cold water crashing over the two forms. Haku, needing to leave the protection of his ice lest he be shattered along with it.

As the dome of Ice came crashing down the battle was drawn to a sudden halt, all of the assembled forces standing in fear and anticipation over the fate of their respective comanders.

Ina and Sakura were forced to stop as ice, dirt and other debris was blown and scattered everywhere, shielding their eyes, they allowed the gust of wind to pass before they looked upon the scene of the drastically changed landscape. Ice and water was scattered everywhere, the millions of tiny shards making everything sparkle in a beautifully horrifying backdrop as the blood and bodies mixed into the picture. Still, they admired it for a scant few seconds before two, slowly staggering forms, laying there amidst the chaos, the blood and the ice caught their eyes.

"HAKU!" "BROTHER!" The two called as they rushed over to them, kneeling next to their forms as the two struggled against the darkness that threatened to ensnare them.

"Ina?" Katsu questioned softly, coughing in pain as he looked upon his sister▓s face, framed by her raven tresses.

She nodded slowly. "Yes brother, it▓s me."

"You're...safe." He spoke as he swallowed the blood that gathered at the back of his throat. "I'm glad." He whispered again before he allowed himself to fall into blissful darkness.

Sakura allowed her tears to fall freely from her face, dripping down onto the form that lay cradled in her arms, green chakra glowed in her palms, but his skin was cold, as cold as it had always been. Like the early morning chill of a January, rolling into February.

His pulse was steady, but weaker than it should have been. Sakura watched his peaceful expression, the tears still flowing freely from her eyes.

Ina watched as a Kumo Anbu, his clothes, mask and blade stained with blood. "My lady Ina?" He questions uncertainly.

She ignores him however, standing as she grips her bow. "Take care of him." She orders firmly, the Anbu straightens as he bows once, Ina turning and rushing towards where she can clearly see Naruto's blackened form.

Her heart clenched at the sight of him, the pain in her chest, like rusty barb wire, spreading outwards as she neared him, the full extent of the damage he had taken becoming more and more visible as the distance was closed between them.

His right wing was broken, judging from its odd angle. Massive gashes running along the sides of his neck, three cross his eye. His left hind leg also seemed broken. Along his side there was a large gaping hole, no doubt caused by one of those hawks▓ pecks.

She walked forward slowly, listening to the faint rumbling of his breathing, ignoring the cries of worry that reached her ears from some of the Kumo ninja that were beginning to recognize her, having formed a circle along Naruto's form, along with some of the Kiri shinobi who too, were confused over this latest development.

His eye, that ruby red eye that still managed to hold its gentle edge, despite its malice, looking to her then as he growled gently, the vibrations passing through the floor and into her. She closed her eyes, blinking back the tears as she reached the side of his cut neck, gently passing her hand over the injuries, the crimson liquid slipping through her fingers, mingling with the tears that now fell from her eyes.

Meanwhile above, Ata-Kai watched the movements of the Shinobi, his eyes narrowing in suspicion at the display from the girl many of the Kumo ninja called Ina. If he remembered correctly, then Ina was a Kumo kunoichi, granddaughter to the previous Raikage and Sister to the current one. Then why was she showing affection for the downed beast that Orochimaru had reported was Uzumaki Naruto, a leaf nin?

Ata-Kai could only come up with a few explanations, and one seemed the most likely at this point. The snake had lied...

He spared one more look down to the battlefield before he signaled his summon, the creature letting out a screech before he turned and headed back to Iwa, his men would pull back. The snake could defend himself against the world now for all he cared.

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Shani, from her place, hidden amongst the tree's of the demons forest, felt the tingle at the back of her mind. Her eyes snapping open as she stood. 'Naruto.'

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A huge dust cloud over shadowed the vicinity covering the area in a momentary state of darkness. Black fumes exuded in the air fires still burning and transferring to other houses in the town. The wood, goods, trades, life forms, and oil giving the flames even more incentive to burn. Charred bodies littered the streets, bloodied Shinobi from both sides piled over hundreds in the explosion that reverberated all across the combatants.

Dazed soldiers walked the streets without a destination in mind. Injured shinobi cries echoed in the streets, gurgled and more than one occasion being muffled pleas for aide.

Voices began to die down, crying children becoming distant; women weeping for loved ones and lost ones all were being taken under the Shadow of the Reaper.

Yet from the shadows of the haze two hugely defined figures stood out among the rest. Both towering entities stared at one another in a challenge that would decide it all. Arashi stood at the top of the massive amphibian, leader of the Toads, Gamabunta.

The Toad sat proudly on his haunches. The massive figure grasping the handle of his katana in a half hearted way, yet, poised to strike when the need of it arises. Sensing no immediate danger. He put his occupied hand down on the rubble under his webbed feet letting the blade hang loosely along his side. ⌠Finally summoning me Arashi,■ The great Toad asked. But Arashi remained quiet. ⌠It▓s been a long time.■

⌠I know,■ The Yondaime stared down he smiled slightly and bent down. He patted the head of the giant of a frog solemnly. ⌠I▓m sorry my friend but I need your help once again.■

⌠Hmph,■ Gamabunta replied with a nod of a head. He focused his gaze on the slithering serpent in front of him.

The frog▓s counterpart swayed its massive head in different direction gathering his knowledge on his surroundings and analyzing the devastation. The tongue of the King of snakes slithered from its jaws tasting the air that was clung with the blood, decay, and the smell of death. He jerked irritably when he felt to footsteps of the man that summoned him on top of his head. ⌠You▓d have better have my 100 human sacrifices Orochimaru.■ The great snake warned saliva laced with venom fell on the battle ground below. ⌠Or I will kill you where you stand.■

The battered Snake Sannin steeled his voice and answered. ⌠Take care of these fools and you will receive more sacrifices than you can ever imagine. Kill them. And you will be rewarded.■

The Toad and the Snake stared at one another locking heated gazes.

⌠So Manda is this finally the day when I skin ya and make you and honored addition to my collection of wallets made out of your hide.■

⌠Such irritating arrogance,■ the massive copperhead snake replied. Gleaming jewels for eyes stared with malicious intent. ⌠You will be my food tonight, whelp.■

Gamabunta reached for his Katana pulling the blade from its sheathing. Pulling it out completely the blade gleamed in the shadowed sunlight blinding the snake momentarily. The Toad made its attack with the disadvantage with powerful webbed right arm outstretched the blade aimed for the head of the Snake. Manda tasting the disruption in the air burrowed his head and tunneled his way under.

The Katana connected with the rubble and slid across the battlefield slicing the earth and cutting the world in an open crevice. Not realizing yet but the cries of the Yondaime alerting him remained stock stilled when from under the blade came forth the great snake and wrapped itself around his whole arm. With great intensity the great snake bit the tender flesh between his armor and jaw line. Gama gave a startled cry.

The Yondaime realizing the dire situation quickly jumped from the head of his companion and headed in the direction of the head of the Snake. With his three pronged blade in hand he headed in the direction for Manda but was intercepted by Orochimaru. His rejuvenated tongue caught his ankle and hurdled him to the floor below. With a mighty resounding crash the debris and dust covered the Yondaime in a haze.

Gamabunta felt the deadly poison being pumped in his veins weakening his senses and his awareness of his surroundings. The massive creature fell to one knee. His other arm settling itself on the battleground to support his weight.

Yet it was just a momentary stand by when from the dust cloud the legendary Hokage of Konoha emerged from it. His three pronged blade in hands he threw the weapons at the mighty snake. Piercing one of its eyes the snake unlatched itself from the Toad giving a strangled cry. He swung its head knocking the Toad a good meters away from itself.

The Yondaime flash stepped and took the opportunity to trail the massive snake▓s hide until reaching the head using one of his Kunai▓s to stab Orochimaru. But the Sannin was ready with a Kusanagi blade to intercept it. The Rocking uneven battleground for a head swung from side to side giving a disadvantage to both parties. Yondaime losing his footing fell from the top but upon almost landing on the rubble he used his famous technique to flash back on the Toad▓s head picking the seal from his head.

⌠You doing alright, Gama,■ The Yondaime asked looking down at the bubbling bite marks on its neck.

⌠Aye, but my right arm is numb I can▓t move it,■ the limp appendage lay rigid on the Toad▓s side. Purple veins sprouted on its arms giving a decaying look to it. ⌠I▓m not going last long with this wound sonny.■

The Yondaime gritted his teeth and stared at the thrashing form of the legendary snake.

⌠We can▓t wait for them to recover Gama,■ The blond shinobi focused his gaze on the sword that stood rutted in the floor. Sticking out like a monument for all to see it was being coiled by the great snake Manda.

Without a second thought or command from the Yondaime Gamabunta sent forth his elongated tongue and wrapped itself around the Snake. His mouth being muffled he yelled at the Yondaime to attack. From his words, ⌠Arashi I need fire. On my tongue it▓s covered in oil. Do it now.■

So without a hesitant action the Blond shinobi reared back and let loose a grand fireball that consumed its tongue. Like a gathering fuse it headed in direction of the snake and consumed it in a smoldering inferno. The blade glowing blood red with the intensity of the fire.

The Toad retracted his tongue back and bit back a strangled cry. The Yondaime smelled a faint trace of burnt flesh coming from the mouth of the Toad. But both companions ignored it having their gazes staring ahead watching the bonfire burn the body of the Great Snake. The scaly skin fell down in pieces, until it all fell in chunks. The pale visage was the clear indication that the reptile had evaded death once again.

An earthquake rocked the very earth.

Gamabunta using his remaining strength he jumped high in the air turning abruptly facing the gaping mouth of the Snake with Orochimaru standing a top it with fascinated glee on his face. Gama breathed in deeply exhaling torpedo like water compressed bullets that impacted the snake. Manda fell heavily. Trying to regain its bearings it reared its head to find the Toad where his body had burned moments ago reaching for the blade.

The Snake▓s eyes widened seeing the Toad jump high in air once again retracting his left hand back he hurled the weapon with great intensity and precision. It cut through his horns catching the Sannin by surprise. Manda still trying to dodge didn▓t see the form appear on his flank and leaping from behind him when Yondaime attacked them with a Rasaengan. The blond shinobi was only able to blow the lower portion of the body of the Sannin giving Orochimaru ample to time to get away with his top half but Manda took the full brunt of the attack.

A huge dust cloud over came them shadowing everything in the battle field.

Manda was immobile with his disfigured twisted face down blade deeply imbedded in his mouth. Gamabunta standing over the large form with his webbed feet stepping on it face stopping it from moving any further. The Yondaime lay on his side getting up groggily he peered around him. He took in his surroundings.

His eyes widened at the retreating figures of the Iwa Shinobi.

He rose himself and stared around him┘they were leaving. The man reeled for a moment. Not comprehending the turn of events but was startled out of them by the other figure in the battle field the Snake Sannin. Orochimaru raised himself from the dust cloud of the battle only his top half of his body being mobile. The man▓s legs disintegrated from the Rasengan.

Fear arose in his eyes watching his plans begin to fall apart.

Gamabunta with a foot still on the mouth of the reptile retracted the blade from his opponent▓s mouth. Blood trailing like a string of saliva. He buried his foot deeper in its massive head keeping the Snake in the same spot, unable to move the King of snakes feared what was to come.

⌠It▓s finally over Manda,■ Gamabunta raised his left hand with the katana attached to it. The Toad said finally. ⌠Go with your ancestors and find peace.■

The Katana severed the head of the massive snake with great precision. Cutting the head cleanly in one swoop, before his skull was pierced, through and through with equal presision, the great Toad cleaned the blade with his clothes and brandished it in the air before placing it back in its sheathe.

Gamabunta turned towards the Yondaime one last time. ⌠The seals are set as you requested.■ Gamabunta reached down and placed a webbed hand on the form of Manda and the other by its severed head. ⌠Good luck Arashi, it was good seeing you again.■

The massive figures disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Leaving the Hero and the Snake to face off once again.

⌠I won▓t let you escape Orochimaru,■ The Yondaime said. ⌠It ends here,■ with that said. He weaved a sequence of hand signs in front of him stopping in one. ⌠No more running this is where we finish it. This is the place where you will die.■

The Snake Sannin▓s eyes widened.

Seals rose in the four corners of the battlefield engulfing them in a darkness covered barrier. It blocked the light around them sending them forth into an all consuming abyss.

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Gaara sighed tiredly as he exited the command tent, cracking his neck as he did. War was an exhausting business, how Temari was able to lead the troops before he came with little to no trouble he would never be able to-

"Hi hoodie."

Dear god in heaven.

The Kazekage's teal green eyes twitched once before they slowly turned to Tenten, finding her smiling form, as cheery as ever. He rubbed his temples. "Tenten. I see you are well."

The irritation in his voice was just for show, and she knew it. She smiled before walking up to him, wrapping an arm around Gaara's shoulders as she giggled. "Yeesss, I'm quite well, so I decided to come down and pay you a little visit. You don▓t mind do you hoodie?" She questioned with a pout and fake teary eyes, ones she knew Gaara could scarcely resist, no matter how much he denied it.

The Kazekage's lips curled back as he pulled away from her, trying to look anywhere but to her. He succeeded, by glaring at anyone who passed by, scarring the living daylights out of them.

Tenten frowned, she'd have to keep in mind to use that tactic when he was alone only, and otherwise it wouldn▓t work. She moved to open her mouth to speak gain when a voice suddenly reached them, a very unwelcome voice, very worrisome voice.

"While this spectacle is amusing vessel of the Shukaku. That is not what I am here for."

Gaara spun around, placing Tenten behind him as his eyes gazed into those of Uchiha Itachi, standing in the middle of their camp. The rest of the Suna ninja present let out a startled gasp, brandishing weapons as they swiftly surrounded the Uchiha.

"You need not worry, I am not here for a fight." The Uchiha spoke blandly. "I am merely here to give you a message."

"What message?" The Kazekage growled, eyes narrowing as sand vissibly gathered at his feet.

Itachi stared straight at him for a good long while before he finally spoke. "You're sworn brother, Uzumaki Naruto and Kumo's Nii Yugito. Has been captured by my organization. And they are currently being taken to our headquarters near Ame. If you wish to save them." He began vanishing into black smoke. "Then you had best hurry Kazekage."

Gaara did not ease his guard untill he felt all vestiges of Itachi's presence vanish and even then he remained on guard.

"A trap?" Tenten questioned.

"Undoubtedly." He nodded. "But it is a trap I will have to walk into. If I wish to make sure my brother is fine."

"Then I'm coming too." Tenten spoke firmly. Gaara shook his head. "No you won▓t."

Tenten responded by sending him a look, the look that clearly spoke 'As if you're gonna stop me.' Before turning to the nearest Chuunin. "Hey, tell Temari she's in charge again until we get back." Before she rushed off, heading east.

Gaara growled. "Insufferable woman." Before he too chased after her. Leaving a very confused chuunin behind.

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⌠What is this place,■ The snake sannin snarled seeing the barrier taking effect. ⌠What is happening?■

The Yondaime only smiled in response, ⌠Is that fear in your tone Orochimaru,■ The blond haired shinobi said continuing sequences of hand sign in front of him with rapid movements. By doing that the plane got thicker and darker the barrier settling itself a lot firmly. Glyphs began to appear on the walls blinking and receding, a deep purple of a color flashing in the dark domain.

Orochimaru raised himself on his remaining limbs, his jet black hair covering his visage like a shade. His breathing began to be labored. A heavy oppressed feeling settled on his body he felt power in his veins being drained from him the Snake▓s peripheral vision becoming blurry and unfocused. One of his arms gave away from under him and he collapsed on his chest again.

⌠Don▓t you feel it,■ the blond haired shinobi retorted finally coming to a stop on the sequence of hand signs and stopping on one. Instead of dropping his hands like most jutsus he remained stock still. The Snake Sannin looked up and stared in wide eyed wonder at the Yondaime. ⌠His eyes.■

Orochimaru strained against the invisible force set against him. Feeling something rising up he spat the building blood that filled his stomach a puddle forming around him. With lips still stained with the crimson liquid he raised himself slowly again by his two arms. His slitted eyes staring menacingly towards the Yondaime.

Seeing the unmoving form of the Yondaime Orochimaru took initiative.

Without a second thought the snake sannin sprung into action forgetting everything that was going around him including the death▓s eyes that followed him. Like a coiled snake he slithered with speed unmatched catching the Yondaime unaware. He wrapped himself around the entire length of his body blade coming forth from his mouth and lunging for the Kage's throat.

But, being only mere milimeters from his throat the snake was frozen.

Orochimaru couldnt explain it, it wasnt a jutsu or technique, it wasnt that he had been hit in a pressure point, it wasnt even killing intent. It was just a presence a cold grip that held him firmly in place. His blade just a hairs width away from the Jugular of his opponent, but completely unmoving, despite his struggles.

"You feel it now dont you." the Kage asked rehtorically as his cold blue eyes glanced upwards at the snake, his body unmoving as he held his seal.

Orochimaru snarled. "What is this?" He snarled, his words understandable despite the fact that his tongue held the Kusanagi.

"Did you not ask yourself why I did not use too many, of my techniques on you, Orochimaru?" He questioned again, ignoring the snakes question."It was for two reasons really, one to bide my time, in order to sieze the perfect opportunity to use this, and of course, to get you this close."

Orochimaru's eyes narrowed, smoldering with the utmost hatred for the blond.

Arashi smirked. "Look now uppon your death, snake. And know that this time there is no escape."

Orochimaru would have retorted to the blonds statementif not for the form that suddenly took shape behind the blond, that of the Shinigami, knife held firmly in the teeth of his spectral form as his grim vissage stared down uppon the snake sannin. His non existant eyes seemingly piercing his blackened soul.

"Hehehe." Arashi chuckled, his voice shuddering with evil intent towards the snake. "I wasnt joking when I said the Shinigami wasnt happy about not having collected your soul Orochimaru."

The snake sannin snarled before looking down on the Yondaime's smiling form. "You!" He roared retracting his tongue and swallowing the Kusanagi with it. "You will die as well foolish Yondaime. I have faced this technique before and survived it. Despair in the knowledge that your attempt will fail just as the Sandaime's did.

Arashi smirked as he released his seal. "You see...thats where your wrong, on both counts." His form then vanished, leaving Orochimaru grasping nothing but air, but even so his form did not move from its previous position.

His eyes searched for the Yondaime, but soon his eyes grew wide with fear as he saw the blond standing "Behind" the Shinigami, smirking like there was no tomorow.

"You see Orochimaru..." The blond smiled. "The Shinigami is so angry at you that even he was willing to "Bend the rules" for this ocasion. While I was...away...he gave me exclusive permission to use this technique on you. It summons and entraps two individuals in this dimension, this limbo between the world of the living, and the dead. He is here...to personally take your soul to the underworld."

The snake sannin's eyes took on a look of such utter disbelief mixed with horror that Arashi couldn't stop the smile from widening to an almost maddening degree. "Goodbye snake."

Orochimaru's eyes broke off from Arashi's gaze and stared to the spectral form of the Death God. "No...this...THIS CANNOT BE!" He yelled, begining to struggle against his invisible bonds. But the hold of the Shinigami was a firm one, unyielding as the Being drew a sword from his side, the blade of which pulsed with a cold sickening aura of ice and death. Stepping forward slowly, as if to Prolongue Orochimaru's increasingly desperate yet futile struggles against his paralizing touch.

The snake sannin's amber yellow eyes could only look on in horror as the Shinigami stood before him, and slowly raised his sword.

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As soon as the barrier fell Arashi was once again in the battlefield, infront of him was the smoking dried up corpse of Orochimaru, his once pale skin now ashen gray his eyes open yet unseeing as his now white hair framed his features. It was as if all the life had been literally sucked right out of the snake sannin.

Arashi paid it little mind however before he turned his mind back to the battle. He had to organize his men, now that Orochimaru was dead the city could be taken with ease.

He moved to leave when his eyes caught something in his peripheral vision.

It was a head of stark silver hair that seemed vaguely familiar. Uppon closer inspection, he saw the black cloth mask, and the scar going down the left eye. Most importantly this individual was burried from the waist down amidst a pile of concrete rubble and wodden debris. "Ka-Kakashi!" He yelled rushing down to the fallen ninja. Just where had he come from, according to reports he had been missing. Just what-The explosion...that explosion just before he'd summoned Gamabunta, where all those prisoners had come out of...that had to be it.

The Yondaime soon enough used a quick wind jutsu to cut appart the stone debris before heaving his battered student out of the remains."Ok kiddo, your allright now" He said laying him down on the ground, pressing his ear against his chest to listen for a heartbeat he began pounding against the jounin vest that covered him" Come on Kakashi, I didn't come back from the dead just so you could go looking for me." He grunted as he beat a few more times against his chest

Finally the copy ninja started coughing his bleary eyes prying themselves open.

His vission was blurry as he looked around, groaning in pain as he raised a hand to rub his head. The last thing he remembered was fighting Sasori, then those two large summons showed up, started trampling around everywhere, while most had mannaged to get away quick enough, he and Sasori had been too close, and ended up burried under a collapsed house one of Manda's tails crused. He didn't notice if Sasori got out but he sure as hell didnt.

Opening his eyes again he glanced around and found the worried blue eyes of...no bloody way.

"Aww shit...I really did die didn't I?" He groaned in pain as he struggled to get to his feet. "Funny." He gasped. "I thought that death would be less...painful."

"Well thats because your not dead Kakashi what would make you think that." Arashi questioned his former student. At Kakashi's incredulous eyebrow however he realised just what was wrong. "Oh crap the Henge, I forgot!" The blond said in distress before he formed said technique, a moment later appearing as the exact copy of his son.

Kakashi stared at the henge'd individual before he stepped back. "I'm not dead..." But then his eyes narrowed. "Naruto if this is some kind of...no...no it cant be Naruto because Naruto's..."

That peaked Arashi's interest. "Naruto's what?" He said with a hint of urgency.

Kakashi's head suddenly started snapping around from one direction to another "Yugito! Where's Yugito!?"

"Kakashi!' The yondaime called bringing his students attention back to him. "What happened to Naruto!? Who's Yugito?"

The copy nin stared at the man. "Look I...I don't have time if you are if you say you are then you'll be able to answer this. "What punishment did you give me and Obito when we put green hair dye into Rin's shampoo?"

Arashi got a strange look on his face before he shook it off and spoke "I put purple and orange hair dye in yours now hurry up and tell me what happened to Naruto."

"Holy shit it is you!" Kakashi gasped. He hadnt expected for this man to even remotely be who he had claimed to be. He had expected to recieve a wrong answer and would then have probably used the kunai currently slipped into his hand in order to cut the tendons on his arms and legs. A rather painful and rather fatal experience if he was not treated in due time.

Arashi hurriedly nodded. "Yea yea what the hell were you on about before?"

Kakashi's eyes rolled into the back of his head before he promptly fainted.

"HEY HEY!" Arashi yelled as he caught the younger mans limp body, slapping him in the face a couple of times to wake him up. "Oh come on we don't have time for this damnit!"

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Naruto groaned, his eyes opening weakly as they now found the familiar setting of his mindscape.

"Naruto." Came the rumbling voice to his side. Slowly...painfully, he turned his head, finding the familiar, massive form of his grandfather standing behind the bars of his imprisonment. He smiled, though it was a very weak one. "Hey...old man...its been a while."

Indeed it had been a very long time. As the years passed, it was evident, that the seal, and being imprisoned into the body of a hanyou, was wearing on the Kyuubi's soul. As more time passed, the great fox demon had slept, more and more, awakening only in times when his grandson was emotionally distressed or in mortal danger. This was certainly one of those times.

"Naruto...you must hold on...help will come soon for you." The demons rumbling voice sent vibrations through his chest.

Naruto's eyes dropped slightly. "NARUTO!" The great demon roared bringing the boys full attention back to him. Kyuubi stared into his eyes, crimson red meeting amber gold. "Stare into my eyes boy. Keep your focus on me." He commanded, the deep baritone forming ripples in the ankle deep water. The great demon could feel his power being sapped away, but it would take a long time, a very long time. With any luck...it would be long enough for the boys rescue to arrive.

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Pein watched on in apathy as the demonic chakra's from the two Bijuu, the Nibi and the Kyuubi were slowly but surely extracted from the two unconsious figures laying in the seal. The red and purple chakra clashing against one another as they approached the gaping mouth of the statue he stood under. The process of extracting two Bijuu at once, especially one as large as the Kyuubi, in comparison to that of the Nibi had them all exausted But soon, so very soon. This is all that they required. The Shukaku may still be wandering the lands, but it didnt matter. This power was all they would need and if by some small chance they actually needed the Shukaku they would hunt him down and capture him as well.

The red and black eyes of the Rinnegan watched the chakra as it rose above the two forms, bubbling and hissing like a crackling fireas the red and purple glow lit up the cave. Slowly, like the flow of water up hill, the chakra began moving towards the statues mouth. Finally entering the seals gaping maw all nine eyes on the beast opened and a groan like that of the howling dead reached Pein and the rest of the Akatsuki members ears.

"What the hell is that?" Kakuzu spoke as he looked around the chamber.

"Hey Hidan your into all that creepy bump in the night bullshit." Kisame began as he drew his sword, no longer needing to concentrate on the ritual as the statue sucked up the chakra that had just entered its mouth like a strip of spagheti. "Any ideas?"

"I praise Jashin you ignorant fool. Not any weakling creature that just goes 'bump in the night'" The heratical Akatsuki member snarled as he drew his scythe.

Just then one of the three doors on the side of the chamber opened, revealing the solemn form of Uchiha Itachi.

"I suggest." The Uchiha drawled in a bore. "That you all run."

Visibly confused by this statement, they moved to ask him what he meant but before the question could even be uttered from their lips a massive explosion sent the Iron door on the ajacent wall flying, Smashing against the suprised Hidan and crushing him between the iron door and a wall of stone. "Oww." Came the muffled groan of pain from the immortal.

The rest of the Akatsuki turned their eyes back on the door, the fire and smoke obscuring their view of the silouhueted figure that currently approached them.

"Taking my son...was a very bad idea." Came the feminine voice of Kazama Shani as she stepped into the chamber, her crimson red eyes gleaming with the orange glow of the fires behind her.

"Your son?" Deidara questioned before turning to Pein. "Hey! Whats the deal! The Kyuubi Jinchuriki is supposed to be an orphan."

Pein grunted. "It doesnt matter. Kill her."

"Let me" Came the muffled voice of Hidan as he pushed the door off of him, the massive hunk of metal falling with a great crash as the bloddied, scratched and brusied ninja walked out of the indent his form made in the stone. "That hurt bitch." He said before he shifted the grip on his scythe and rushed the Vixen. Shani's eyes turned to the silver haired Nuke-nin's for a brief moment before he swung the scythe.

He hit little more than air however, as the woman seemed to vanish from his sight, not a split second later however was Kakuzu's head, from the upper jaw up, was torn clean off with a single invisible swipe. His body collapsed like a puppet without its strings the red headed woman appearing two steps behind where he had been standing as it did blood dripping off her left claw as she glared at the surrounding ninja who now each started gathering their respective weapons and abilities as they prepared to attack her. She noticed the leader make a strange hand seal before five more of him appeared.

The demoness flexed her claws in preparation but before she could do anything the eyes above the statues flashed white before they turned an inky black, a groan, simmilar to the one before shook the chamber around them. Pein noticed from the corner of his eyes that Itachi was nowhere in sight.

Shani's eyes traveled up to the statue as if seeing it for the first time, her mouth opening slightly as she took a step back. There was a bright flash of light which made everyone cover their eyes even those facing away from the statue.

A roar tore through the air bringing Shani's eyes up to the statue again, seeing the spirits of the Nibi and the Kyuubi as they were torn from their containers. "Father! she yelled out to the roaring entity of chakra before the great fox released a final, defiant roar before he was fully absorbed into the statue.

"Wha-what?" The demoness eyes were brought to that of the Akatsuki, who were now kneeling as if the strength from their bodies was being sapped from them. Uppon closer inspection however, the demoness could see faint traces of human chakra, their chakra, being drained from them and into the statue.

A pressure suddenly hit the Kitsune demoness sending her staggering back as she realised just what this thing was. "Encablosa." She whispered, a sliver of fear entering her heart and voice.

The rumbling of the cave increased, as if trembling in fear from the name itself. The massive shackles around the statues wrist shifted, rattling as its arms began to move, puting tension on the massive chains that bound its hands together before they were brutally shatered, the chain in its mouth was promptly torn away as was the blindfold over its eyes. "I. AWAKEN." It spoke in an old tongue, a language dead for millenia uppon millenia, unspoken since the dawn of time and the birth of the world. Shani could not understand his words, but somehow she could understand it, understand him, its deep rumbling voice sending enough vibrations through the chamber to dislodge many of the stalagmites on the ceiling.

The beasts pitch black orbs suddenly turned onto the still unconsious form of Naruto. "MY. POWER." he spoke as his arm slowly made its way to the blonds unmoving form.

"NO!" Shani yelled as she rushed forward.

The dark beings eyes shifted to her. Opening his mouth there was a terrible screech, like nails on a chalk board that rang through the entire chamber. The fox demones's progres was brought to a brutal halt as she screamed, clutching her ears in pain as blood leaked from her ears and tearglands. "Ahhh, Na-Naruto!" She said as she struggled to her feet, taking two more steps before collapsing due to the pain.

Encablosa turned its attention back onto Naruto its massive hand, nearly twenty feet wide and thirty feet from middle finger tip to wrist, hovering over the boy.

The sword at the blond Jinchuriki's side rattled in its sheathe, shaking violently before it was removed from its scabard, hovering between the dark ones massive hand and Naruto's prone form.

"I. WIN. BROTHER." The dark one spoke before the sword shattered into a million pieces, light and dark essenses pouring fourth from the weapon, the light, dissipating beneath the suffocating presence of the dark, becoming nothing more than stray ashes in the wind as the black essence coalessed into a single orb before eit was absorbed fully by Encablosa.

The great demon pulled away from the blond purple energies coalessing around its massive form. As it turned its pitch black eyes onto the struggling Shani, the last of the Akatsuki member collapsing with Kisame as the evil beast absorbed their essence, leading them as nothing but empty shells. "MY. POWERS. HAVE. BEEN. DILUTED. TODAY. DEMONESS. BUT. I. SHALL. RETURN. SOON. AND. ALL. YOU. KNOW. SHALL. BE. REDUCED. TO. NOTHINGNESS."

Shani pulled herself to her feet just before the great beast released another screech and its form dissipated in hords of black locusts and clouds of Miasma leaving a lone demoness to try and save her dying son.

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Naruto groaned as he pried his eyes open, his throat dry and hoarse as he struggled to return to the living world. Voices faintly reached his mind as his senses slowly but surely returned to him. Opening his eyes the blond found himself in a hospital room, the light from the hallway shifting in from the edges of the door, the faint voices were from people outside in the hall. Naruto glanced around, finding it to allready be nightime, hence why the room was so dark, but he also noticed the individuals around him. His mother and father sat in a nearby couch, her head resting on his lap as they both slept. Naruto then became aware of a weight bearing down on his chest. Turning his eyes to the source he was greeted with one of the most wellcoming sights he'd seen in a very long time.

A familiar, full head of long silky strands of raven black hair. Running his claws through the tresses he leaned down and hugged the younger girl closer to him, forcing her to stir slightly in her sleep. "Nruto?" She mumbled sleepilly as she turned a bit, her sea blue eyes meeting his own, clouded with sleep and confusion. Naruto smiled down at her as he reached over and pulled her into the bed. "Shhh...I'm here now...everythings allright."

The Kumo kunoichi's eyes grew heavier, held close to her lover's familiar warmth and presence she allowed herself to succumb to sleep once again. Ilv yu." She mumbled before finally giving into its grip.

Naruto smiled down at her as he kissed the top of her head. "I love you too." He sighed, breathing in her scent, rain and water lilies, it was allways her.

Unseen by the two the Yellow flash allowed a smile to spread over his lips before he continued to sleep.

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Several rooms down Kakashi stared down on the slowly awakening form of one Nii Yugito. "Hi." He greeted with his familiar upside down U eye smile.

Yugito glanced around the room, wincing at the bright light that beared down on her from the ceiling. "Ohhh, wha...what happened." She groaned rubbing her head

"Oh nothing." The coppy ninja shrugged nonchalantly. "We just mannaged to rescue you from the Akatsuki who extracted most of the Niibi from you."

If the Kunoichi had been half dead before she certainly didnt look it the next second as she sat up fully her eyes wide as her mouth moved a mile a minute. Due to her state she failed to notice that Kakashi said "Most" of the Nibi. The fact of the matter is that the Akatsuki had extracted nearly all of the Nibi's chakra, but for whatever reason at least a small 5 of the Nibi's essence remained, and though that gave her a tenuous grip on life, she had been brought to the hospital in time however to stabilize her condition. "WHATWHATTHEHELLDOYOUMEANTHEYEXTRACTEDTHENIBITHEYCANTEXTRACTTHENIBITHATLLKILLMEYOUMUSTBELYINGBECAUSEIMNOTDEADANDIDBEDEADIFTHEYEXTRACTEDTHENIBIWHEREAREWEKAKASHIWHATSGOINGONWHA-UMPF"

Her tirade was swiftly and brutally cut off by Kakashi as the copy nin pressed his unmasked lips against hers, catching her completely by suprise as she began returning the kiss. The coppy nin pulled away, allowing the Kumo kunoichi to regain her senses as she oppened her eyes and looked to his now masked face. His smile was still firmly in place as he spoke. "Now now, you cant get too worked up. Get some rest now." He muttered pressing a small pressure point on the girls neck watching as she fell back on the bed, dead asleep.

He straightened as he looked down on her sleeping form, his smile gaining something of a gentle tone to it. "I'll be here when you wake up."

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The next morning Naruto stood atop the Hokage monument, staring as the sun began its rise, spreading fire throughout the horison.

He had been told everything that had happened by his mother when he woke up. Encablosa was now out there somewhere, and his greatest power had been taken from him...

"I thought I'd find you here." Naruto turned finding Ina as she approached him, her soft footsteps clacking against the stone gravel beneath her feet. She made it to his side, sitting down as she wrapped her arms around his neckm placing her head near the crook of his neck. Naruto adjusted his position and pulled her onto his lap sighing in contentment as he placed his lips to hers.

"I missed you." She sighed as the kiss ended, resting her head against his chest. "I missed you so much." She repeated hugging him closer.

Naruto sighed as he did the same. "I missed you too...I promise I'll never let anything happen to you again."

Ina smiled. "It was you that needed rescuing this time...I should be saying that."

Naruto smiled back. "Well I'm stubborn then." He said before looking back to the horison.

Ina rested her head against him again, rubbing circles over his back with her hand. "Are you worried. About Encablosa."

Naruto nodded. "Yea...I am." He looked down to her, caressing her cheek with the palm of his hand bringing her eyes back up to meet his own. "But no matter what happens..." He smiled. "You know me eh.:

She smiled up at him, her blue eyes lighting up. "Yea." She sighed hugging him tighter. "I know you."

Naruto watched her before resting his chin over her head, watching the sun rise over the village basking in the warmth of the sun and the heat of the woman resting hin his arms.

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Well this fic is finally completed. By far not the best ending I have come up with. I know I have done this story a great injustice. It really did deserve its true and propper ending but I just cant do it anymore. This last chap was extremely rushed, as it essentially cramed 4 or 5 chapters into one. I felt as if I was butchering my own story with this. But I really just couldn't do it and I felt it was better to give this an ending, even a half assed one as opposed to none at all. Maybe one day I'll come back and finish the story. If anyone is interested in what the true ending of this story was then I'd be more than happy to send you the overview of the remaining plot. This would have been up much sooner than it has been but for some reason my Beta's kept dissapearing on me so I just decided to post it and repost it when one of them gets back with the corrected chapter.

Anyway again I hope the fans of this story can forgive me for this. This will most likely be the very last update for this story. 


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